BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was temporarily blinded by his own pepper spray during a fight with a driver Sunday along Interstate 95 in Brevard County, officials said.
The traffic stop took place around 4 p.m. along I-95 near Grant Road, just south of Palm Bay.
According to an FHP arrest report, the trooper pulled over the driver of a Volvo SUV who was traveling recklessly at 91 mph in a 70 mph zone.
The trooper suspected the driver, Addison Taylor, 38, of Virginia, of driving under the influence.
The trooper attempted to open a prescription bottle that Taylor had handed him, but Taylor then grabbed the trooper and a struggle ensued, the arrest report stated.
[Ask Trooper Steve: Do I have to get out of my car if officer tells me to do so?]
The FHP said the trooper ordered Taylor out of the vehicle, but Taylor refused to do so as the struggle continued. The trooper deployed his pepper-spray, but Taylor knocked the cannister away, knocking it into the trooper’s face and causing him to lose his ability to see, the arrest report stated.
Taylor elbowed the trooper in the face, and the trooper said he was worried about being pushed into traffic, according to the report.
Another law enforcement officer arrived and forcibly removed Taylor from the vehicle, officials said.
The trooper began “decontamination” from the spray while Taylor was arrested on several felony charges, including possession of cocaine, resisting an officer with violence and battery on an officer. He also faces DUI and obstruction charges.
No other details were released about the trooper’s condition.