Body camera footage shows the chaotic arrest of a man accused of unleashing a pit bull on a police chase, neglecting a child and possessing more than $15,000 in cash and more than 8 grams of fentanyl.
Jose Hernandez, 38, is facing multiple charges following an alleged road rage incident that happened Saturday night in Marion County, Florida. according to Fox 35. The initial incident reportedly then escalated into a physical altercation with responding officers.
Body camera footage obtained by Fox35 shows an officer attempting to wrestle a bloody Hernandez to the ground. The officer then punches the suspect and tries to keep him on the ground as other officers gather to help. The pit bull is also seen stalking Hernandez and the officer, then running in front of the officer's parked car.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene after receiving a report of a fight that appeared to have stemmed from a road rage incident, the outlet reported, and Hernandez was spotted “throwing trash out of the open window of his vehicle,” Fox 35 reported, citing an affidavit. (Related: “Stay With Me”: Body camera footage shows officers attempting to rescue snorkeler struck by boat propeller while lobster fishing.)
The “trash” dumped by the 38-year-old man was later determined to be more than $15,000 in cash, and authorities reportedly found 8.5 grams of fentanyl on Hernandez after he was taken into custody.
According to reports, responding officers found a naked child in the passenger seat of Hernandez's car, not wearing a seat belt, and two dogs. One of the dogs was an “aggressive” pit bull, Fox 35 reported, citing the affidavit. Officers then tried to remove the dog from the car several times.
“After I asked to talk to him in the back of his car for the seventh time, he rolled down the driver's side rear window, at which point his pit bull was half way out of the window,” the affidavit states. “He asked me, 'Are you a f****** and are you scared of dogs?'” he then got up from his seat and said, 'I just fought one of your kind.'”
When deputies tried to arrest Hernandez, they used a Taser, but he ordered his dog to attack the deputies, according to Fox 35. The dog was reportedly sprayed multiple times with oleoresin capsicum to get it to back off.
Hernandez was hospitalized for his injuries and has been charged with resisting arrest with violence, trafficking in fentanyl, child abuse without serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of assault on a police officer, the outlet reported.
