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GLENDALE, AZ (KTVK) — A Valley construction worker said his years of martial arts training paid off when a man tried to grab a gun from a police officer working at their job site.
The suspect, 29-year-old Dieter Bradford Klofkorn, was able to get the weapon about halfway out of the holster, according to a police report.
Greg Barkley said he helped the officer subdue the suspect by placing the man in a chokehold and taking him to the ground. Barkley said he has studied martial arts for the last four years, including Brazilian ju-jitsu.
“It really worked out that day,” he said.
Barkley was the foreman on a construction job Aug. 7 near 73rd Avenue and Bell Road. He had set up a chair and an umbrella for an off-duty Surprise police officer who was assigned to monitor traffic during the project.
Around 10:30 a.m., Barkley said he noticed what appeared to be a homeless man sitting in the shaded chair.
“My first reaction was, ‘Hey, this is a construction site, you can’t be here,’” Barkley said. “When I went up to him, he looked – it was hot. So I offered him some water instead.”
As Klofkorn sipped the water, Barkley said the 29-year-old’s demeanor suddenly changed when the officer walked by.
“He was no longer focusing on anything else but the police officer,” he said.
He decided to follow Klofkorn. By the time the 29-year-old lunged for the officer’s weapon, he said he was only a few steps behind.
“I heard the cop yell something to the effect of like, ‘Hey what are you doing!’ And at that time I was right behind him. I was able to put him in a chokehold and put him to sleep – take him down to the ground,” Barkley said.
The officer, who was in uniform but off-duty, was not carrying handcuffs, so Barkley and his construction crew helped bind the man with duct tape.
Barkley said he didn’t realize until later how dangerous the situation was. After the incident, someone told him about the shooting death of DPS Trooper Tyler Edenhofer last month. Edenhofer was killed when a suspect got hold of another trooper’s service weapon during a fight.
“The bottom line is, the police officers here, they deserve a lot of gratitude and I want them to know that I’m grateful for what they do,” Barkley said. “They protect us and that was one way of showing that I appreciate it.”
Surprise Police Sgt. Tim Klarkowski issued the following statement:
“The Surprise Police Department would like to express our gratitude to the community members who provided our officer with assistance on August 7th, 2018. This sort of story highlights the positive relationship between our police officers and the communities they serve.”
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