Assaulted Cop: Headlines Made Me Too Hesitant

An Alabama police detective says he was pistol-whipped into unconsciousness with his own gun because he didn't want to be the newest cop vilified for killing an unarmed man, CNN reports. "I hesitated because I didn't want to be in the media," he says. The Birmingham detective, whose name has not been released, stopped a car for driving erratically on the freeway last Friday. The driver allegedly defied orders to remain in his vehicle and began questioning the detective about why he was stopped. A scuffle ensued, and police say the driver grabbed the detective's gun and beat him with it, reports al.com. The attack left the officer in the hospital with a concussion and staples in his head.

Other officers eventually arrested 34-year-old Janard Shamar Cunningham and charged him with attempted murder. The union president for the police department tells the New York Daily News that officers on the street "are walking on egg shells" because of the media, and the pistol-whipped detective agrees. He says "a lot of officers are being too cautious." The Daily News reports photos of the injured officer taken by bystanders went viral on social media, with many people mocking the officer and police. (More police brutality stories.)