Sandy MaloneSarasota, FL – Police have arrested the driver who ran over a Sarasota police officer on Monday and kept going after the crime was captured on nearby surveillance cameras (video below).
The incident began at about 2 p.m. on March 20 when officers responded to a 911 call about a vehicle burglary on Mourning Dove Drive on Bird Key, WWSB reported.
Police discovered video of the burglary and identified the suspect vehicle as a white Mercedes.
Officers spotted the same suspect vehicle on Longboat Key at about 5 p.m., WWSB reported.
Shortly thereafter, Longboat Key police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle from a home on Fair Oaks Place.
Police received a call at about 9 p.m. the same evening reporting that the suspect white Mercedes had returned to Bird Key, WWSB reported.
So, officers responded to the area and placed their patrol vehicles across the entrance to stop the suspect from leaving.
Surveillance and bodycam video showed what happened when the Mercedes approached the roadblock and decided to go around it.
The Mercedes navigated around a police SUV blocking its path and slammed straight into an officer, the video showed.
The officer went up over the Mercedes and was flipped in the air before he landed on the pavement.
Bodycam video showed the world spinning as the brave hero flew through the air.
The other police SUVs took off after the fleeing suspect while another officer went to help the officer who’d been struck and remained on the ground.
“It was horrific. It was terrible. We all gasped as we saw the officer jump about 4-6 inches off the ground and really save his own life,” Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche told reporters about the department’s reaction to the vide of the hit-and-run, WTSP reported.
Sarasota police pursued the fleeing Mercedes east on John Ringling Causeway, north on US 41, and east on Fruitville before the suspect abandoned his stolen Mercedes in the 2900-block of Orange Avenue, WWSB reported.
The suspect had fled the scene when officers found the abandoned Mercedes, but tips were quickly called into authorities after police released a photo of the suspect and a video of the vicious hit-and-run of the Sarasota police officer.
The suspect was quickly identified as 22-year-old Mark Thomas of Plantation, WWSB reported.
He was arrested and charged with aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer and fleeing to elude with disregard for safety, according to a press release from the Sarasota Police Department.
Chief Roche said the driver would also face attempted murder charges, WTSP reported.
VIDEO: Chief Troche spoke to journalists from various media outlets Tuesday afternoon about our Officer injured during a hit-and-run/vehicle burglary on Bird Key Monday night. pic.twitter.com/eQy806uoM2
— Sarasota Police Department (@SarasotaPD) March 21, 2023
Police said Thomas had previously been convicted on multiple counts of grand theft auto, drug possession, burglary, and carrying a concealed firearm.
He had just been released from prison for those crimes on Feb. 2, according to the press release.
The officer run over by Thomas was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for treatment of contusions, WTSP reported.
He did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. WARNING – Graphic Content:
VIEWER DISCRETION: Our officer is recovering after being hit by a car on Bird Key. Officer is home & is expected to recover. The vehicle was found near 2900 Orange Ave. No suspect has been arrested. Anyone with info should call 941-263-6827. Full Release: https://t.co/FJ3yGM8l9U pic.twitter.com/haxD7POXhS
— Sarasota Police Department (@SarasotaPD) March 21, 2023
Holly Matkin
