Prisoner saves guard from being attacked by fellow inmate with giant bear hug

CCTV shows the man coming to a guard's rescue after he was attacked

A prisoner came to the rescue of a detention officer when he was suddenly attacked by another inmate.

CCTV captured the moment the assault occurred at the Payne County jail in Oklahoma.

Tashka Robert Frank Maret, 24, lashed out at a guard before he was eventually restrained.

Robert Charles Hammock, a second inmate, was sat nearby when the attack happened and made his way over to intervene when Maret had his back turned.

Hammock strangled him with a giant bear hug, stopping him immediately in his tracks.

Officers then ran in to assist with bringing Maret to the ground. Nobody was reported injured.

Captain Kevin Woodward, from the Payne County Sheriff’s Office, claims there aren’t as many guards due to budget cuts.

“It does make it a little more dangerous for the people,” Woodward told Koco 5 News.

“We certainly wouldn’t want anybody to try and be a Good Samaritan and get hurt in the process,” he added.

It has been reported that Maret had originally been imprisoned on charges of public intoxication and petit larceny.

He now faces the additional charge of assault on an officer, and could be incarcerated for five years.