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Cutler Bay, FL –Taser jolts from multiple Miami-Dade police officers were entirely ineffective against a combative man who was punching walls and screaming inside a Wendy’s restaurant on Wednesday afternoon (video below).
A bystander used a cell phone to record the disturbance, during which 35-year-old Joaquin Labaut was “speaking to himself loudly and acting erratically by flailing his arms back and forth, an arrest report said, according to the Miami Herald reported.
When two Miami-Dade South District officers arrived at the restaurant, Labaut “became violent” and “started punching the walls while yelling obscenities,” police said.
Labaut, who stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, was standing at the counter with his back to one of the female officers at the start of the video.
“Don’t touch me ever in your life!” he suddenly yelled in the direction of a wall to his left. “Never touch me again – you should go to jail. You touched me!”
Labaut then struck the wall for a moment before one of the officers walked up behind him and placed her hand on his arm.
“You felt this one time before, right?” the officer asked, with her Taser aimed at Labaut. “I need you to put your arms behind your back.”
Labaut suddenly turned away, then threw his arms into the air before he charged into the kitchen area of the restaurant.
One officer deployed her Taser as Labaut made his way behind the counter, but he seemed unfazed by the shock, the video showed.
He proceeded to the back of the kitchen and stood with his hands clasped behind his head, but refused to follow the officers’ repeated commands to get onto the ground.
Labaut recoiled as one of the officers tased him again, then quickly recovered and rushed into a confined space next to the drive-thru window.
An employee screamed as Labaut squared off with police, pushing the workers into the window as he backed further away from officers.
At least one of the officers deployed her Taser yet again, but Labaut stood defiantly with his arms crossed.
A third officer arrived at the scene and deployed an expandable baton.
“Get on the f – – – – – g ground now!” he yelled at Labaut, just before he struck at his leg with the baton.
The officers continued to yell commands and the sound of the Taser remained near-constant.
The officer delivered several more strikes to Labaut’s legs with the baton, but Labaut remained unfazed.
Just after a fourth officer arrived at the scene, Labaut broke away and pushed past the officers as he fled from the kitchen and back into the seating area of the restaurant.
He crashed into chairs and tables as the officers tased him some more, and he ultimately fell onto the ground.
“Stop resisting!” one officer yelled, as the four officers wrestled him into cuffs on the restaurant floor. “Stop f – – – – – g moving!”
“Bro, why you acting stupid today?” an officer asked Labaut just before the clip ended.
Labaut was charged with battery, resisting an officer without violence, disorderly conduct, and felony aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, the Miami Herald reported.
It was unclear if Labaut was under the influence of substances at the time of the altercation, and information regarding is mental health status was not provided.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez praised the officers for their use of restraint, especially considering the fact that Labaut was far larger than the two female officers who first encountered him.
“They chose not to up the use of force under the circumstances,” Perez said. “It ended well. They showed restraint.”
You can watch the officers’ encounter with Labaut in the video below: