Charleston police release body camera video of officer attacked outside bus station

CHARLESTON, W.Va (WCHS / WVAH) — Charleston police have released body camera video from an incident last week when a police officer was attacked outside of a downtown bus station.

Anthony Gamble, 31, of Baltimore, Md., is charged with disarming or attempting to disarm an officer, malicious assault of a police officer and obstructing an officer.

About 5:30 a.m. last Wednesday, police said Patrolman Chelsea McCoy responded to the Greyhound bus station on Reynolds Street after getting reports of a man throwing rocks at one of the buses.

When McCoy got to the scene, police said, Gamble was holding a rock in his right hand and threatened to hit the officer with it if she "didn't get out of his face," according to the criminal complaint.

Police said Gamble then attacked McCoy, hit her with the rock and caused her to fall to the ground. Police said he got on top of her and hit her in the face and head with his fists.

"While on the ground, the defendant attempted to disarm Patrolman McCoy, pulling on her pistol, attempting to remove it from its holster," according to the complaint. In the video, you can hear McCoy scream that Gamble was trying to get her gun.

"When backup officers arrived, they were able to get Gamble off of McCoy and after a brief use of force, Gamble was taken into custody without any further injuries or force used," Deputy Chief of Police Scott Dempsey said last week.

McCoy suffered injuries to her face and head and was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital. City officials said Monday that she had returned to work.

"We all know being a police officer is a dangerous job. Any call can end up just like the one Patrol Officer McCoy responded to last week. I am thankful that Patrol Officer McCoy is OK and that our officers responded quickly to her call for assistance. When I spoke with Patrol Officer McCoy last week, she was in good spirits and ready to get back to work," Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin said in a prepared statement on Monday. "We have the most dedicated, hard-working police officers anywhere in the country, and Patrol Officer McCoy's desire to immediately get back to work shows how dedicated our officers are to keeping the citizens of Charleston safe."

Dempsey said Monday that he, the chief and the mayor's office "are very proud of our officers and the way they handled this situation. They showed great restraint when it comes to these types of situations. I think they handled the situation flawlessly."

"You never want to see a police officer anywhere, much less one of your own officers get into that kind of trouble and be in that situation because we want our officers to go home safe every night and every day to be with their families. To know that this situation could have ended very bad from what it did, that makes it very tough to watch," Dempsey said.

Gamble is being held at the South Central Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash only bond.