According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office in Volusia County, Florida, the incident occurred on Tuesday when an officer identified as Deputy Zimmerer “conducted a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon on Howland Boulevard after a black Ford F-150 crossed all lanes of traffic on Howland Boulevard and nearly collided with the deputy.”
After Deputy Zimmerer pulled the pick-up truck over, a man, identified as 41-year-old Frank Padilla Velez exited the vehicle. In the body camera footage, Padilla can be seen “behaving erratically, jumping out of his truck then lying down in the roadway,” the police said in a press release.
As the footage continues, Deputy Zimmerer then attempts to place handcuffs on Padilla, which is when he became “combative,” according to police.
Zimmerer’s body camera footage cuts off shortly after he attempts to handcuff Padilla, but according to the press release, Padilla hit the deputy in the head with his elbow, knocked the handcuffs into the road and then attempted to fight Zimmerer.
The video released by police then shows body camera footage from another officer who responded to assist Zimmerer. As the second officer exits his vehicle, two civilians can be seen helping Zimmerer, with one civilian working to detain Padilla while the other helped to secure Padilla’s dog, which jumped out of the car during the traffic stop.
Zimmerer, the civilian and another officer can be seen attempting to place handcuffs on Padilla as he lies on the ground and can be heard yelling “they’re gonna kill me.”
According to police, Padilla violently resisted arrest and even tried to bite Zimmerer’s leg. Zimmerer was not seriously injured during the traffic stop, police said.
“The deputy then deployed his taser but it didn’t affect Padilla. During the struggle, Zimmerer’s body camera’s main power button shut off before additional deputies arrived and helped take Padilla into custody,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office wrote in the press release.
Police said that Padilla was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with resisting an officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended license, careless driving and expired registration.
In response to the incident and the help Zimmerer received from the two civilians, Volusia Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood said in the press release that “All my respect and gratitude goes out to these two men who took action when they saw a deputy under attack. It makes me proud to know that in Volusia County, our residents still have our deputies’ backs.”
According to police, Chitwood plans to award the two civilians with a citizen’s award for their help during the incident.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office directed Newsweek to the press release after reaching out for comment.
