WINTER GARDEN, FL– A 27-year-old Florida man is now in police custody after he struck an officer with his vehicle and bit another officer on the leg.
The incident occurred at a Mobil gas station on Tuesday around 7:50 p.m.
Authorities were called to 12961 W. Colonial Drive after the suspect reportedly jumped on a counter inside the store and began destroying display cases.
When authorities arrived, the suspect had already left the store, leaving behind an estimated $2,000 worth of damage.
As authorities reviewed surveillance video with employees, an employee noticed the suspect walking back towards the store and pointed him out.
When officers attempted to stop the suspect, he ignored verbal commands and got into a vehicle.
The suspect was said to have fled to the other side of the gas station before making a left turn and approaching the entrance of the store.
At the entrance, the suspect revved his engine and then accelerated through the entranceway.
Two officers jumped out of the way of the vehicle, however, the suspect swerved his vehicle into one of the officers, striking him in the arm with the vehicle’s side mirror.
The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment but their condition is unknown at this time.
The suspect then fled in the vehicle westbound on Colonial Drive.
Around 7:59 p.m., an officer responding to an unrelated call noticed a man “on the roof of a vehicle dancing and pointing at vehicles driving by.” When the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the suspect ignored orders, got into the vehicle and drove to a 7-Eleven.
The suspect was said to have walked inside the store while officers waited outside.
Once the suspect came out of the store, authorities attempted to take him into custody.
The suspect struggled with officers and at one point, bit one of the officers on the thigh.
Authorities deployed both a taser and a K-9 to bring the suspect into custody.
The suspect has since been identified as Malik Smith. He faces charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, criminal mischief over $1,000, violation of probation, resisting an officer with violence, and two counts of resisting an officer without violence.