A North African immigrant attempted to kill a Spanish police officer using the "mataleón" chokehold after the officer intervened to assist a woman who was under attack.

A Maghrebi immigrant has been arrested for brutally attacking an off-duty police officer who was attempting to assist a young woman being assaulted by her ex-partner on a public street. According to police sources, the arrested individual was also involved in the violent theft of the victim’s mobile phone during the incident, which occurred in a district of Barcelona.

The officer observed a man, approximately 25 years old, hitting and dragging a woman, trying to forcibly take her away.

Information published by ElCaso.cat indicates that the Maghrebi assailant pushed the young woman against a wall while cursing and threatening her.

The officer managed to intervene, identify himself as a police officer, and temporarily restrain the attacker while calling for backup. However, a second man, also of Maghrebi descent and a friend of the main assailant, appeared and attacked the officer from behind.

The man delivered a powerful kick and attempted to incapacitate the officer using a „mataleón,” a choking technique used to restrict breathing during fights. Taking advantage of the distraction, the main suspect managed to flee the scene, but not before stealing the young woman’s mobile phone and threatening her with further violence depending on what he found on the device.

Un inmigrante magrebí deja al borde de la muerte a un policía con la técnica del mataleón por socorrer a una mujer que estaba siendo acosada en Barcelonahttps://t.co/RLPPzQzQxO

— LA GACETA (@gaceta_es) May 8, 2026

Ultimately, the officer succeeded in restraining and detaining the second assailant until local police arrived. The arrested individual was taken to the police station on charges of violent robbery and assaulting a public official.

Subsequent investigations led to the identification and arrest of the woman’s alleged attacker. It emerged that the man was a familiar face to both the local police and the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force, with a total of 27 prior police incidents on record. He faces charges of sexual assault, threats, and coercion, in addition to the theft of the mobile phone.

According to police sources, both individuals are members of a group that regularly commits violent robberies in the area. They often use electric scooters for transportation and to carry out knife-point robberies, particularly targeting South American citizens leaving bars and nightclubs. Despite multiple arrests, the suspects continue to frequent the courts before returning to residences near the sites of their violent acts, as reported by La Gaceta.