Police: Florida Cop Beaten Unconscious, Gets Head Stomped During Attempted Arrest
A police officer in Florida was seriously injured Thursday morning when a suspect knocked him out and stomped on his head.
The Atlantic Beach Police Department said the incident occurred after the department received a call around 5 a.m. about a person causing a disturbance in a Panera Bread parking lot, WTLV-TV reported.
When the police officer arrived on the scene, he became engaged in a physical struggle with the suspect. The suspect punched the officer until he was unconscious and then began to stomp on his head.
The police department reported that when a backup officer arrived, the suspect said something like “you’re going to have to kill me.” He then approached the second officer and tried to reach for the officer’s gun.
The backup officer fired one shot at the suspect, who was struck but continued to be combative. He remained uncooperative as he was taken to the hospital, police said.
The first officer suffered injuries to his face and hands, WTLV reported.
“This is a terrible thing to happen in Atlantic Beach,” Atlantic Beach interim police Chief Vic Gaulillo told the station.
Debbie Cain, an employee at the Vintage Barber Shop near where the altercation occurred, said she was “shocked” to see police vehicles in the parking lot when she arrived at work.
“I thought this was a super safe neighborhood, I couldn’t imagine what was going on,” Cain told WTLV.
On Friday morning, the police department reported that the suspect, identified as Jaden Perkins, had been arrested and absentee booked into jail, likely due to his injuries, according to WTLV.
Perkins was charged with second-degree attempted murder.
“Thank you for the huge outpouring of support and prayers for our Officers involved in the incident yesterday,” the ABPD wrote in a Facebook post.
“Our injured officer is now home and recovering, he will undergo facial reconstructive surgery next week.”
Thursday’s incident was the first officer-involved shooting in Atlantic Beach in 20 years.
This is not the first time people have attacked police officers in recent days.
Several protests have turned violent with people throwing “commercial grade” fireworks and other projectiles at police and hitting officers with sticks.
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