Cedar Park Police Officer Recovering After Scuffle With Suspect

CEDAR PARK, TX — A police officer is recovering after getting into a scuffle with a suspect said to have attempted to strangle him early Friday morning.

The incident occurred at around 3:15 a.m. on Friday when a Cedar Park police officer attempted to pull over Nicholas Curtis, 30, for lack of a rear license plate on the TaoTao Moped he was driving, a police spokeswoman said. But the suspect instead abandoned the bike at South Cougar Avenue and Brushy Creek Road and fled on foot.

The officer, whose identity hasn't been released, caught up with Curtis who police said became combative and attempted to strangle the officer. The suspect later was found to be in possession of several "edged" weapons, police said.

The officer deployed his taser in an effort to subdue Curtis as two backup officers responded to the scene, according to the spokeswoman. The suspect continued to be combative even after the arrival of the two other officers, she added.

Once apprehended, Curtis was found to have an extensive criminal history, currently on parole violation for which an arrest warrant had been issued. Police booked him into Williamson County Jail on the parole violation charge and expect to file additional charges in the coming days, a police spokeswoman said.

The officer who was assaulted was transported to a local hospital for treatments of his injuries, but has since been released. He is now at his home recovering, the spokeswoman said.

“This incident and incidents like it are a reminder of how dangerous policing can be and how quickly a situation can turn," Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix said in a prepared stateement. "It is also an example of the immense dedication our officers have to protecting this community even when it requires risking their own lives."

Mannix also praised his officers for using restraint in not deploying lethal force in subduing the suspect.

" I am so proud of everyone for their professionalism and for the decisive resolution of an encounter where use of lethal force was a very real and reasonable possibility," Mannix said. "This kind of quiet heroism is reflective of not only the Cedar Park Police Department, but police departments across America.”

>>> Photo of Nicholas Curtis courtesy of Cedar Park Police Department