New England Patriots offensive linemen Justin Herron was one of two men honored as heroes with an Outstanding Service Award by Tempe, Ariz. Police on Wednesday for stopping a sexual assault at a local park over the weekend.
Herron, who is spending his offseason training in Arizona, was walking through the park on Saturday when he witnessed a 71-year-old woman on the ground screaming while being attacked by a younger man.
Police say the man, 30-year-old Kevin Caballero, had pushed the woman to the ground and attempted to pull her pants down while making comments about sexually assaulting her.
“At that moment I was in shock,” Herron said at a press conference Wednesday. “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.”
The 25-year-old Herron, who stands at 6-foot-5 and nearly 300 pounds, said he first yelled at the man to get off of the woman before he pulled him off of her.
“I’m a football player, I’m kind of big,” he said. “I try not to be too aggressive with people knowing I could potentially hurt somebody. 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.”
Herron also had help from another man in the park, Murry Rogers, who was there reserving a spot for his 15-year-old son’s birthday party and helped Herron intervene.
“If not for the swift actions of Mr. Justin Herron and Mr. Murry Rogers, this vicious attack could’ve been much worse,” Tempe police detective Natalie Barela said.
Both Herron and Rogers met with the victim again this week, who referred to the two men as “her angels.”
“Nobody should have to go through that,” Herron said.
The Patriots offensive linemen said he hopes to never see something like that again.
“I don’t want this to happen again, I don’t want to have to save someone else’s life again,” he said. “But I’m glad I was able to save someone’s life on Saturday.”
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