US police have hailed a homeless man as a hero after he saved a police officer from a drug-addled attacker.
Former Crips gang member Charles Alexander told Dallas news station KTXA he felt he had to help the officer because the attacker was going "ballistic".
A video of the attack shows a policeman backing away before Mr Alexander crosses the street and slams the attacker to the ground.
Mr Alexander was officially thanked by Dallas police yesterday.
"Due to Mr Alexander's bravery and quick reactions, (the alleged attacker) was taken into custody for assaulting a citizen and a Dallas police officer," police said.
City councilman Dwaine Caraway said it was a great example of someone who was once in a gang going on to save lives.
"(He was) basically doing something heroic, in my opinion, in breaking up something that could have really gone bad," Mr Caraway said.
"Hopefully we can take that and show other gang-bangers that there are some good things you can do versus some of the other things."
Mr Caraway said the man who attacked the officer was high on PCP.
The president of a nearby homeless shelter, Jay Dunn, said he wasn't surprised when he heard what Mr Alexander had done.
"(Mr Alexander) is engaged with us and we're trying to help him recover," Mr Dunn told The Dallas Morning News.
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