Hope Mills police officer saves man being attacked with machete

A small town police officer is being called a hero after saving a man's life while he was being attacked by an assailant holding a machete – and he wasn't even on duty.

Ask any law enforcement officer, and they'll tell you there's no such thing as a routine day.

After three years with the Hope Mills Police Department, Officer Ian Cortese had never had a day quite like this before.

It was a Friday afternoon, and he wasn't on duty, but when he saw two men scuffling behind a laundromat on South Main Street, he jumped into action.

"As I turned around and pulled into the parking lot, they were kind of on top of each other. They were in a physical altercation on the ground," Cortese said.

One of the men had a machete.

James Mcintyre, now charged with attempted murder, was using the machete to strike the victim several times, causing serious injury to his head.

Cortese intervened and was able to stop the assault, taking Mcintyre into custody and saving the life of the victim.

"I ran up on him, kind of came up behind he and tackled him off of his bike," Cortese said. "I was able to actually kick his feet out from under him. I was able to slide my hand up quickly and grab the base of the knife. I tossed it as far away from us as possible."

The victim is going to be okay, and Mcintyre remains locked up in the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.

Mcintyre was also charged with Assault Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

"Office Cortese is a great example of the care and dedication our officers put in to helping others," said the police department.