Go Shaq!

2005-09-14 - 1:48 a.m.

Shaq helps arrest man accused of assaulting gay couple

Associated Press

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Shaquille O'Neal has been credited with an assist away from the basketball court, following a suspect who allegedly assaulted a gay couple and alerting police.

The 7-foot-1 Miami Heat center, who is in the process of becoming a Miami Beach reserve officer, was driving on South Beach about 3 a.m. Sunday.

That's when he saw the man, riding as a passenger in a silver Honda, yell anti-gay slurs at the couple, said Bobby Hernandez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.

He then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt.

The suspect got back in the car and it sped off, but O'Neal followed.

"He flagged down the Miami Beach officer on duty there, and the officer was able to apprehend the subject," Hernandez said.

Michael Gonzalez, 18, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. A phone number for Gonzalez could not be located and it was not known if he has an attorney. The Honda's driver was not charged.

O'Neal, who hopes to be a police chief or county sheriff one day, was already being fitted for his Miami Beach police uniform before the incident.

"For this incident I don't want to be credited as an individual who does police work," O'Neal said in a statement. "I want to be credited as a Miami Beach police officer."