CINCINNATI — In the early afternoon hours of June 18, Jesse Webster was driving a truck down Riverside Drive for his construction job when he spotted a man chasing a woman down the middle of the road.
"Slowed down. Don't know why," said Webster. "Maybe to be the voice of reason, break it up, like 'hey.'"
He jumped out of the truck and the situation quickly escalated. A Cincinnati Police report said the man then held a utility knife to the woman's throat.
"I remember having a brief thought of, 'Oh my god, he's going to kill this woman,'" said Webster. "It looked to me that he was in stabbing motion. And I thought, 'I can't let this happen. Let the chips fall where they may.'"
It didn't take more than that thought for Webster to jump into action. Nearby, at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, Alex Miller was working as a valet with a clear view of the whole altercation. He left his post to help Webster disarm the man.
"He fell and braced himself on the arm that had the knife on the ground," said Webster. "I jumped on that hand. Both my hands. Put my weight down. He tried to jerk the knife away. Alex said, 'He's got a knife.' I said, 'I know. Help me.' He didn't hesitate. Jumped on his back and started choking him."
On Tuesday the pair were given a Citizen's Act of Bravery, the highest form of recognition the Cincinnati Police Department offers a civilian.
Webster maintains he's not a hero, but said he is glad he was in the right place at the right time.
"Just trying to be a good parent, good husband, good worker," he said.
Police arrested the man who wielded the knife in the incident, but a grand jury declined to indict him.
