A Huntsville man is under arrest after authorities say he bit a Hoover police officer.

Patrick Earl Trotman-El, 33, was arrested Tuesday afternoon outside Walmart on U.S. 280. Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said a patrol officer stopped a motorist - later identified Trotman-El - shortly before 4:30 p.m. as he was pulling into the store parking lot.

The driver, Rector said, was immediately uncooperative, exiting his vehicle and then re-entering and reaching for the center console. A physical altercation ensued when the officer realized the suspect was reaching for a handgun.

The struggle continued until two citizens came to the aid of the officer, helping him subdue the suspect. The officer sustained a bite wound on his arm and was treated and released from Brookwood Freestanding E.R.

Rector said police learned Trotman-El was wanted for a probation violation on an aggravated assault case from Dekalb County Georgia. The handgun in his possession was also stolen out of Huntsville.

Detectives on Thursday obtained additional arrest warrants charging him with second-degree assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental operations.

He was transferred from the Hoover City Jail to the Shelby County Jail where he was being held on $33,500 bond.

"This police officer was simply doing his job and he wound up in a violent struggle with a suspect trying to grab a handgun,'' Rector said. "We can't praise and thank these two citizens enough who came to the aid of our officer. They put themselves in harm's way to help a policeman arrest a very bad guy."

"This situation was a recipe for disaster if they had not come along and intervened when they did,'' he said. "The outcome could have been much worse."