‘Horrific’: Sarasota Officer Hit By Suspect’s Car, Police Chief Says

SARASOTA, FL — A Sarasota police officer is recovering after being hit by a car driven by a burglary suspect Monday night on Bird Key, authorities said. (Watch a video of the incident below.)

The officer was hit by a Mercedes likely stolen from South Florida, Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said during a Tuesday news conference.

Officers first responded to reports of a vehicle burglary Monday on Mourning Dove Drive on Bird Key around 2 p.m., a Sarasota Police Department news release said. Personal items were stolen from the vehicle.

Surveillance video from a security guard booth at the entrance to Bird Key showed the suspect driving a four-door S-Series Mercedes, police said.

After 5 p.m., Sarasota police learned that the same white Mercedes was in a neighborhood on Longboat Key.

Police there responded to reports of a Range Rover stolen from a home on Fair Oaks Place, SPD said. Though several people were home when the vehicle was stolen, nobody was hurt.

Later that evening, after 9 p.m., Sarasota police responded to a call that the white Mercedes returned to Bird Key.

Officers strategically placed their patrol vehicles at the entrance/exit to stop the car from leaving the key, Troche said.

The injured officer, who hasn’t been named, anticipated that the driver of the Mercedes might crash into the patrol vehicles or try to avoid them by using a side street, the agency said.

The suspect drove past a parked patrol car and hit the officer — who was on foot — head on, flipping him over the vehicle.

The officer was brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and returned home Monday night.

“Thankfully, he will recover from his injuries,” Troche said. “However, this incident could have ended with our agency making funeral arrangements.”

Other officers followed the Mercedes away from Bird Key as it drove east on John Ringling Causeway, north on U.S. 41 and east on Fruitville Road. The car was abandoned in the 2900 block of Orange Avenue, the agency said.

The video of the incident is “horrific,” the chief added. “We all gasped as we saw the officer jump four to six inches off the ground and really saved his own life, because that allowed him to roll over the vehicle.”

Had the officer crouched down, rather than jumped, he would have been run over the by car, Troche said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Kim Laster at 941-263-6827 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com.

Watch Sarasota police bodycam footage of the officer being hit by a suspect driving a stolen Mercedes: