Man arrested for shoving officer and attempting to grab officer's equipment

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AUSTIN, Texas - A 28-year-old man has been arrested for reportedly shoving an Austin Police Department officer and attempting to grab the officer's equipment. The incident happened on Sunday, May 31 during protests going on in front of Austin City Hall in downtown Austin.

Court documents state that a large crowd was blocking West Cesar Chavez Street, south of City Hall and southbound Guadalupe Street in the 100 block of Guadalupe Street. Officers in uniform had formed a line of bikes to hold the crowd so that traffic could be cleared from the area.

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A detective who witnessed what happened says that a Capital Metro bus tried to get through and the crowd and officers on the bikes parted and opened up to let the bus pass.

RELATED: Protests continue in downtown Austin, despite cancellation from organizer

As soon as the bus passed and the bike officers attempted to reposition the line, the detective says he saw a man run into the lines of officers and shove one officer.

The detective says he moved toward the individual and then saw the man grab an officer's equipment and appear to try to wrestle the item from the officer. The detective says he detained the man and arrested him.

The man arrested has been identified as Andrew Heckmann and he's been charged with interference with public duties.