Minor Traffic Incident Leads to Major Criminal Charges for Clearwater Man

An 18-year-old Clearwater man faces a list of criminal charges after Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies say he hit and tried to choke out one of their own following a Saturday morning traffic stop.

The incident unfolded around 2:23 a.m. when Deputy Jason Fineran, 30, spotted a man riding a bicycle without lights in the area of 60th Street North and 137th Street North. Fineran stopped his patrol car and tried to speak with the man about the safety violation, the department wrote in an email to media.

The man on the bike, however, didn’t want to hear what Fineran had to say and tried to leave the area. Fineran reached out and grabbed the man’s hand, the email said. The bicyclist responded by punching Fineran in the face, leaving a cut above the deputy’s left eye, deputies noted.

Fineran radioed for help and continued attempts to bring the man into custody.

Those attempts, the department email said, were met with violence. At one point, the man wrapped his thighs around Fineran’s neck, “reducing the deputy’s ability to breathe,” the email said.

When backup arrived, a taser had to be used to bring the man into custody, the email said.

Justin McGirt was ultimately charged with attempted homicide on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer. He was being held in the Pinellas County Jail on $50,000 bond as of Monday morning.

Fineran, who was hired by the sheriff’s office in October 2014, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

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