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A 40-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night in Hillsborough County, Florida, after attempting to flee on foot from a traffic stop. His escape lasted only a few seconds: an officer incapacitated him with a taser, an incident that was captured by the police body cameras.
The incident occurred shortly before 9:00 p.m. near the intersection of Benjamin Road and Johns Road, when deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) stopped a vehicle that was reported to have a stolen license plate.
According to the video shared by the agency itself, the driver, identified as Osmiel Durán, initially got out of the car and explained to the officers that he had purchased the vehicle with that license plate.
"We bought the car like this. The man gave us the license plate," he said.
The situation changed when an officer informed him that he would be under arrest and asked him to put his hands out for handcuffing. At that moment, Durán fled on foot.
The officer reacted immediately, warning of the use of the device with the standard protocol of "Taser, taser!" before firing. The electric shock brought down the suspect, who was apprehended just a few meters away without further incident.
He has accumulated 12 convictions for driving without a license
After the arrest, Durán was charged with operating an unregistered vehicle, driving with a revoked license as a habitual offender, resisting an officer without violence, and petty theft of items valued at 100 dollars or less.
The bond was set at $5,000.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the detainee has 12 prior convictions for driving with a suspended license, a record that makes him a habitual offender under Florida law.
In that state, those who accumulate three or more convictions for driving with a suspended license may face a revocation of their permit for five years and charges for a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
In a message posted alongside the video, the Sheriff's Office summarized the case with a statement directed at the detainee: "Durán already has 12 prior convictions for driving with a suspended license, and now he adds several more charges to his record."
So far, the authorities have not publicly disclosed the nationality of Osmiel Durán.
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