The confrontation occurred just after 10 a.m. on Aug. 24 near New York Avenue. Police said Lt. James Herbert, who was participating in a 5K run, intervened in what appeared to be a violent altercation between a couple on the beach.
Herbert reportedly saw 27-year-old Xontae Glass holding a woman in a headlock and pulling her toward the underside of the boardwalk.
"Me and my husband, like most married couples, do have arguments. We were just having a little argument off the boardwalk," said Michelle Hawthorne, the woman involved.
Hawthorne said Herbert followed the couple back to the boardwalk despite requests to stop.
Police confirmed Herbert followed the pair to await responding officers. At some point, a physical altercation occurred between Herbert and Glass, which was captured on video by a bystander.
"That's where they started picking up the video, where you see my husband getting thrown on the ground, and at that point he's being attacked," Hawthorne said.
She said her husband pulled the pocketknife in self-defense. Around that time, another off-duty officer, Capt. Scott Pollack of Northfield, witnessed the incident and drew his weapon on Glass. Hawthorne said neither officer identified themselves as police.
"This is just a random jogger to us. He was throwing him around, kept punching him in the face, and then out of nowhere, another stranger to us, just another regular person, rides up on a bike, pulls a gun out, aims it at my husband, and says, 'Drop the knife,'" she said.
Hawthorne said she only learned they were officers when uniformed police arrived.
Hawthorne says when the second officer pulled out his weapon, Glass dropped the pocketknife and ran for safety, although police believed he was trying to hide. Glass was taken into custody a short time later.
"This incident highlights that officers are never off-duty and are always serving and protecting," said Atlantic City Police Chief James Sarkos. "In this instance, two off-duty police officers from different departments came together without hesitation to deescalate a volatile situation and protect a person who appeared to be in severe physical danger and distress. I would also like to commend the members of the public who called 911 and those who assisted our officers in locating the suspect."
Glass faces assault and weapons charges. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Hawthorne said she is still seeking answers and has been unable to speak with her husband since the arrest.