Worcester police officer is held up by his own patrol car while trying to break up a fight

A video that has gone viral on the internet shows a Worcester police officer being pushed against a parked car by his own patrol car as he rushes to a fight between two men a few feet away.

On August 8, just before midnight, police were notified of a fight near the corner of Franklin and Church streets, Worcester police spokesman Joseph Cersosimo told MassLive.

Additionally, the brawl took place on the southeast corner of Worcester Common and next to the Burnside Fountain, according to a video shared on Instagram taken from an apartment window on Franklin Street.

The patrol car is seen turning right from Church Street onto Franklin Street. As it turns, a man is seen hitting another man with the lid of a trash can.

The officer pulls over to the sidewalk, gets out, and closes the door. But the patrol car keeps moving. The officer runs to the front of the patrol car to push it back as it heads toward the back of a car parked on the side of the road. The patrol car stops, trapping the officer.

Two bystanders ran toward the officer, followed by two more officers, according to the video. One of the bystanders got into the patrol car and put it in reverse, freeing the trapped officer. The officer was trapped for about 20 seconds.

“I saw the car start to drive off. As soon as I saw it stop, I ran and helped him out,” passerby Oscar Sanchez told WCVB-TV. “He gave me the keys, I jumped in the car, put it in reverse and that was it.”

Meanwhile, the fight continues on the sidewalk near the fountain. Officers arrested 37-year-old Anthony Watson on suspicion of assault with a dangerous weapon.

When Watson is arrested, police can be seen forcing him to his knees and his head falling forward onto the lid of a trash can, which one of the police officers quickly pulls away, according to the video.

The officer was not injured and his patrol car was undamaged, Cersosimo said. The other man in the fight was treated at the scene and was not seriously injured.

The incident remains under investigation, Cersosimo added.