A Florida man used his infant son as a human shield before being tased and arrested.
Brandon Matthew Douglas Leohner, 27, of Palm Coast, Fla., was standing in the drive-thru lane of a McDonald’s when he was cornered by police officers.
Body cam image of the shocking incident shows Leohner holding the baby up to his chest while the officer repeated instructs him to “put the kid down.”
Leohner could be seen looking frantically in the other direction as sirens from other incoming officers could be heard.
The original officer Tasered Leohner, who fell to the ground on his back, which saved the baby from being dropped directly on the pavement.
The cop then runs forward to pick up the crying child.
Leohner managed to crawl under a car and try to escape before he is tackled by a police dog.
The baby, wearing only in a shirt and diaper, can be heard crying “Dada” while reaching out a hand toward the man.
Leohner was arrested after the child’s mother reported her child was abducted by the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, who then drove off with the baby in his lap.
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“Here is a case of a domestic situation turning violent, putting a one-year-old child and innocent drivers in danger,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement.
“Deputies were confronted with a very chaotic situation and a very combative individual that was putting his child at risk by using the child as a shield,” he continued. “Our deputies did everything they could to quickly rescue this child safely from a madman and apprehend the suspect.”
Staly added: “Fortunately, the child was not hurt and was quickly reunited with his mother.”
Leohner is currently awaiting trial without bail.
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