VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man who grabbed a loaded gun during a traffic stop told a deputy that he was "just trying to get away," body camera video provided by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office shows.
Deputy Devin LaFoucade pulled the unidentified man over Sunday night. It's unclear what prompted the initial traffic stop.
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In the video, LaFoucade questions the man about the smell of marijuana in his vehicle, and the man admits to smoking marijuana earlier.
When LaFoucade asks the man to step out of the car, the man admits that he has a bag of marijuana on him, records show.
Traffic stop w/ gun 10/13/18It's not a good idea to run. It's not a good idea to resist. It's absolutely not a good idea to grab a loaded gun. This traffic stop could have ended differently. No one wants that -- not us, not anyone. *The defendant in this case had Hydrocodone and other pills along with 22 small bags of marijuana. Because of his felony convictions he is not legally allowed to possess a firearm. He was charged with possession of a schedule II narcotic (Hydrocodone), possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana >20g, possession with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting without violence in addition to a traffic citation for no tag light.
Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Monday, October 15, 2018
"Alright, well you're being honest so I'll work with you," LaFoucade tells the man in the video.
The man repeatedly tells the deputy "to give (him) a second" to get out of the vehicle, the video shows. Then, with the door to the vehicle open, the man turns his back to the deputy and grabs a loaded gun, according to Sheriff's Office officials.
LaFoucade tackles the man to the ground, ordering him to drop the firearm.
"I was just trying to get away," the man tells LaFoucade, who is pointing his gun at him.
The man stops struggling once the deputy places him in handcuffs.
"You almost got shot," LaFoucade tells him, footage shows.
The man tells LaFoucade that he didn't "want to get caught" since his friend had a gun in the car, the video shows.
"I was running with it, I was fixin' to run with it, bro," the man says in the video.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said LaFoucade, 23, was poised and kept his cool during the encounter.
"Pulling a gun on a law enforcement officer is a good way to lose your life - that's the last thing we want," Chitwood said.
Deputies said the man had Hydrocodone and other pills as well as 22 small bags of marijuana.
He was charged with possession of a schedule II narcotic, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting without violence, deputies said.
The man also received a traffic citation for not having a tag light.