A man who broke a police officer's arm as he attempted to arrest him on suspicion of a street mugging has been locked up for six months.
The 29-year-old offender, from Nigeria, threw the officer to the ground and also assaulted his colleague as they attempted to take him into custody over the suspected theft of more than Dh5,000 from a pedestrian, Dubai Criminal Court heard.
The defendant was one of two men accused of attacking the Indian man in Al Rafaa on August 27 of last year.
After the officers took a description of the assailants from the victim, they were alerted about the defendant watching them from behind a car.
“The victim told us that two African men attacked him. One pulled a bag from his hand and the other snatched the cash from his pocket before they both fled,” said the Emirati policeman.
The officer said that while he and his colleague were speaking to the victim, a passer-by told them that a man was watching them closely from behind a parked car.
"All three of us looked at the man, then the victim shouted that it was one of the two attackers so we went to see him and question him," said the policeman.
When they approached the defendant, he resisted arrest.
"He ran and we gave chase. When I caught up and tried to handcuff him, he assaulted me and threw me to the floor, breaking my left arm," said the policeman.
The accused was eventually subdued and arrested.
In court, he denied charges of theft and physical assault but was convicted and will be deported after serving his sentence.