New England Patriots player honored after helping stop a sexual assault in Arizona

Police in Tempe, Ariz., have honored a New England Patriots player who they say saved an elderly woman from being sexually assaulted in the city over the weekend. 

Police say Justin Herron, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman on the team, was working out in a park in Tempe late on Saturday morning when he heard someone screaming for help. 

Herron told police he found a man, 30-year-old Kevin Caballero, attacking a 71-year-old woman and threatening to rape her. 

Police said Herron and another local resident tackled Caballero and held him down until police could arrive on the scene. 

“At that moment, I was in shock,” Herron said, according to USA Today. “It was 11 a.m., middle of the day, in a very open field and the fact that it happened there at that time was just very shocking. I wish I could tell you what I was thinking, but I could just tell someone needed help. All I could do was rush myself over there to make sure I could help the victim and I could comfort her and be the best person I can be.”

For his quick thinking, Herron and the other man who assisted him were awarded the Tempe Police Department’s “Outstanding Service” award.

“I’m a football player, I’m kind of big. I try not to be too aggressive with people knowing I could potentially hurt somebody,” Herron said. “I do have a loud voice. I yelled, told him to get off of her and then yanked him off and I told him to sit down and I told him to wait until the cops come.”

The woman, who did not suffer any major injuries, was taken to a local hospital and treated.

The second man, Murry Rogers, said neither he nor Herron knew the attacker prior to the incident.

“I’m almost twice as old as Justin,” Rogers said, according to the newspaper. “So I did my best to run to the situation, and help however I could. We were yelling at him to get off. Once the attacker got off the victim, we looked at each other and said, ‘We have to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.’ A lot of effort was spent on making sure he sat down, didn’t move and would wait for the police.”