Off-duty deputy stops assault

Cellphone video shows man choking a woman in parking lot before intervention at gunpoint

Chilling cellphone footage shared on social media this week shows a man choking a woman in Yuba City before an armed, off-duty deputy steps in.

The video – with more than 600 shares on Facebook as of Tuesday afternoon – showed a woman struggling to get out of the driver’s seat of a car as a man in the car wrapped his arm around her neck, choking her from behind. The incident occurred Monday in the Walmart shopping center on Harter Parkway. As the woman just manages to free herself, a man pointing a gun approaches and tells the suspect to get out of the car.

The Good Samaritan was an off-duty Sutter County sheriff’s deputy, Undersheriff Jeff Pierce said Tuesday.

The deputy did not want to be identified.

The suspect appears to bat the gun away and argues with the deputy before the video ends.

The incident was a domestic violence issue and the suspect fled, Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey said Tuesday.

“We are all very proud of (the off-duty officer) for taking this action which could have prevented further injury or death,” Pierce said in an email.

The video indicates the person recording the video had called 911 and was told to stay back.

Yuba City police are investigating the incident and searching for the suspect, who fled the scene on foot.