A Florida dad faces aggravated child abuse and a slew of other charges after authorities say he threw his infant at a deputy following a high-speed chase.
According to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, the 32-year-old suspect was tackled by authorities as a deputy cradled the baby.
Apparently, the incident was captured on video and released by the sheriff’s office this week.
John Henry James III exited his car while carrying the baby after the chase ended on May 26. According to Deputy Jacob Curby, James “just turned around, no regard, not a little toss” and “overhand threw this two-month-old at me from about six feet away.”
Fortunately, Curby caught the baby, who was uninjured. The baby was able to be relocated to safety. The Florida Department of Children and Families is looking into the matter.
“I’ve seen some crazy stuff but this is definitely up there,” Curby told WPEC.
“It was kind of awkward. I couldn’t chase him. I couldn’t tackle him. Not a whole lot I can do because he had the baby,” he added.
After the father threw the baby, he tried to flee the scene but was taken to the ground by authorities. He was checked by medical EMTs and transported to a nearby hospital after he told deputies that he couldn’t breathe and had asthma.
Police tried to stop James after he failed to maintain his lane. He then led authorities on a high-speed chase that started on State Road 60 in Vero Beach.
The chase lasted 40 minutes, which at times James was reported to have struck a detective’s patrol car, dodged roadblocks, and running over tire deflation devices, police reported.
According to the booking information on the sheriff’s office, he now faces two felony counts of aggravated child abuse, counts of aggravated battery of an officer/firefighter/EMT, felony flee and elude, reckless driving, and resisting arrest with violence website.
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