Man repeatedly punches police officer in face — then good Samaritan with concealed weapon steps in

A Utah man is being hailed as a hero after he exercised his Second Amendment right in order to help rescue a police officer who was being assaulted.

What happened?

Last Friday afternoon, an unidentified Springville police officer spotted a pair of feet dangling outside a donation bin. The officer ordered that man, Paul Douglas Anderson, out of the bin. Anderson complied, but refused to remove his hands from his pockets once outside. When he finally did, he reportedly began beating the officer.

Derek Meyer was driving in the area and spotted the alleged attack. He immediately knew he needed to help the officer.

The good Samaritan has a concealed carry license and regularly carries a firearm. He told KSTU-TV he has predetermined how he would act in a situation where he needed to use his firearm to protect life.

"I carry a gun to protect me and those around me, but primarily I carry a gun to protect my family first and foremost. Outside of that, if I were to use my gun to protect anyone it would be law enforcement or military personnel,” he said.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Meyer jumped out of his car, drew his firearm and ordered Anderson to stop assaulting the officer. Anderson complied, but ran off. He was found a half hour later hiding under a flatbed trailer and was arrested.

Anderson reportedly faces “multiple charges” and was well-known to law enforcement.

What did the department say about Meyer’s actions?

Springville Corporal Cory Waters told KSTU that if it weren’t for Meyer’s actions, the situation could have been “much worse."

"Had he not been in the right place at the right time, who knows what would have happened. But he definitely stopped the attack from continuing and becoming much worse. He might have even saved either one of their lives. It could have gone really bad, even for the suspect,” he explained.

Meyer said he acted with instinct because it's simply who he is.

"Not to get any extra attention or to have people talk about me or anything I did,” Meyer said.

Is the officer OK?

According to KSTU, the officer suffered a fractured eye socket and lacerations around that eye. Otherwise, he was released from the hospital and is expected to be OK.