CHICAGO (AP) — A suspected Chicago drug dealer avoided arrest after a group of people threatened to harm a police officer attempting the arrest.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says two officers on Sunday observed a drug transaction involving a man inside a vehicle and moved to make an arrest.

Guglielmi says as one officer worked to control a gathering crowd and pursue a man who fled with a bundle of drugs, his partner was surrounded by a group of people. The group “implied that they had weapons” and threatened the lone officer, though no one in the group displayed one.

The officers backed away from the suspect, who was grabbed by members of the crowd and taken away.

Guglielmi says it was a situation the officer didn’t want to escalate into ” what could have been a very volatile situation.”

Authorities say they are searching for the suspect who escaped arrest and is known to police.