FLORIDA – Dramatic new video has been released of a Florida man who led police on a wild high-speed chase in Indian River County right before he threw his infant baby at a deputy.<\/p>\n
FROM IRCSO:<\/strong> The man who led a lengthy pursuit through the Gifford community a week ago now faces two felony counts of aggravated child abuse after he threw a 2-month-old infant at a deputy.<\/p>\n The pursuit, and his subsequent arrest, occurred around 6:30 p.m. May 26, 2021. The man, identified as 32-year-old John Henry James III, faces several other felony charges including aggravated battery on an officer\/firefighter\/EMT, battery on the same, reckless driving, and resisting arrest with violence.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t throw a baby at us and expect us to treat you with kid gloves,\u201d Sheriff Eric Flowers said, following the incident.<\/p>\n Much of the pursuit and his apprehension was captured on deputies\u2019 patrol dash cameras as well as our helicopter \u2013 commonly referred to as HAWK.<\/p>\n After approximately 40 minutes of driving recklessly through the Gifford community, James drove into the Taylor Pointe Apartments, where he was boxed in. As he bailed out of his car, he grabbed the 2-month-old boy who had been in the car with him and threw the child in the direction of a deputy.<\/p>\n That deputy successfully caught the child and was able to relocate the baby to safety. The Department of Children and Families was notified and is handling that portion of the case.<\/p>\n The incident started on State Road 60 in Vero Beach when our agency attempted a traffic stop for failure to maintain the lane. Instead of stopping, James drove off.<\/p>\n During the course of the pursuit, James struck the front end of a detective\u2019s vehicle. He also dodged roadblocks and at least one attempted stop-stick deployment. He ran over another set of stop-sticks, but they failed to disable the vehicle.<\/p>\n Due to the number of people in the residential area, the call was made for deputies to stand down and turn off their lights and sirens. HAWK relayed the driver\u2019s location and they continued to follow James, ultimately to the Taylor Pointe Apartments.<\/p>\n After James bailed out of his car and threw the infant, he fled on foot through the trees and between buildings.<\/p>\n