PALM COAST, Fla. — A man riding a bike Saturday tried to peddle away from a Flagler County deputy who was driving a police cruiser. It didn’t take long for the police car to catch up with the bicyclist, but during the short chase, the officer saw the man pulling a gun from his waistband, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post states.
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The Facebook post shows the video from the officer’s dash camera which the sheriff’s office edited to show what prompted Deputy Christopher Murphy to use his vehicle to ram Michael McDermott, 38, who was fleeing on a bike.
Murphy was patrolling the W-Section of Palm Coast just before midnight when he saw McDermott on the sidewalk standing next to a bicycle, according to the sheriff’s office. McDermott rode away when the deputy tried to make contact with him.
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Murphy activated the lights on his police cruiser and chased after McDermott. “As Deputy Murphy turned onto Westminster Drive, he observed McDermott pulling a firearm out of his pants,” the sheriff’s office Facebook post states. “Deputy Murphy, fearing that McDermott would engage him with the firearm, struck McDermott with his vehicle, ejecting him from the bicycle and causing him to drop the firearm.”
A 9-millimeter Ruger firearm was recovered near McDermott, who was found wearing a holster, according to the sheriff’s office. McDermott was treated at the hospital for a minor ankle injury. When he was released, he was taken to jail and charged with Assault or Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Fleeing and Eluding, Resisting an Officer with Violence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
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