Inset: Body camera footage from the Sarasota Police officer who struck Gerard Butler with his patrol car; Background: Gerard Butler laying in the street after being hit by a Sarasota Police officer in his patrol car. (Sarasota (Fla.) Police Department)
Police in Florida have released body camera footage showing a Sarasota officer plowing into 8-year-old Gerard Butler on a dirt bike with his patrol car as the boy’s family watches on in horror.
“You just hit my f—ing nephew!” a man can be heard yelling on video, which was posted online by the Sarasota Police Department on Wednesday.
The man repeated the phrase before numerous others ran up and began shouting at the involved officer, who has not been publicly named.
“You’re dead a– wrong,” another person shouts. “You’re dead a– wrong!”
Warning: Graphic content
Speaking in a video statement that precedes the body camera footage, Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche outlined what allegedly happened that Monday evening in the west Floridian city, saying the crash was under investigation.
“The collision occurred around 6:30 in the evening,” Troche explained. “The officer was leaving the scene of a separate call for service when the child entered the intersection in front of the officer’s vehicle.”
Police transported the boy to a hospital that night and treated him for severe injuries that required two brain surgeries, knee surgery, and jaw surgery that he’s scheduled to undergo, according to Tampa CBS affiliate WTSP. He had recently received the bike over the weekend as an early birthday present, the station reported.
“We cannot imagine how difficult this is for his family,” Troche said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Inset: 8-year-old Gerard Butler (Sarasota (Fla.) Police Department). Background: Family of Gerard Butler react to him being struck by a Sarasota Police officer with a patrol car (Sarasota (Fla.) Police Department).
Sarasota police investigators have partnered with the Florida Highway Patrol to conduct a probe of the incident, the department reports.
The boy’s mother, Regina Sanders, spoke with WTSP and blasted Sarasota officers, claiming they abuse their power on the road and are constantly speeding.
“The cops, you just see them flying at least hitting 60 miles and they don’t care about the stop signs just flying through the roads,” Sanders said. “The cops teach us not to speed in residential areas. They have speed limits on the side of the roads for a reason. Whether he had a call or not, you had no business going that fast.”
SPD officials say the officer involved has been placed on restrictive administrative duty and will remain so until their investigation is complete. It’s unclear whether the officer was speeding at the time of the crash.
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