A Florida man died from unknown causes after trying to evade arrest, even stealing a police car to attempt a get-away.
The Hardee County Sheriff’s Office alleges Tommy Redding was driving a stolen Jeep near a local high school.
A local police officer attempted to stop Redding, as he was driving erratically. Redding refused to stop and sped away, only to crash the Jeep.
When he got out and made off on foot, a local police k-9 unit pursued. After a tip-off, police surrounded a nearby barn Redding was thought to be hiding in, and demanded he surrender.
When there was no reply, officers entered the barn to find Redding naked and covered in blood and allegedly under the influence of an unknown substance.
Police tried to arrest him, but, because of the blood and sweat covering his body, he managed to slip away. When his pursuers caught up with him, Redding grabbed a gate motor to fend off the police, who promptly tasered him. This proved ineffective, however, and Redding made for an empty police car, jumped in and backed out into the road.
At this point, two more police cars arrived and blocked his path. Redding rammed them, but was unable to escape.
Police eventually dragged him from the car and tasered him twice more. During the struggle, Redding became ‘unresponsive’ and an ambulance was called. He was taken to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Autopsy results are pending.