A Fort Myers man is facing a serious felony charge after intentionally driving his car into a Clearwater police officer’s marked truck just after midnight, then calmly telling officers he did it on purpose while offering absolutely no explanation for why. The officer, who was simply waiting at a red light in his Ford F-150 patrol vehicle, was taken to a nearby hospital and later released with minor injuries. The suspect, 27-year-old Garrett Burr, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The incident took place around midnight on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, just west of U.S. 19 in Clearwater. Burr, who was driving a brand-new 2025 Kia Soul, accelerated into the officer’s marked F-150 while the vehicle was stopped at a red light. There was no ambiguity about intent. When officers spoke with Burr, he confirmed he had aimed the car at the police vehicle deliberately. After that admission, he declined to say anything further.
Florida law does not require a suspect to explain himself, and Burr exercised that right fully. What he left behind, however, is a criminal record that may follow him for a very long time. Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is classified as a second-degree felony in Florida under Florida Statute 784.045, and a motor vehicle qualifies as a deadly weapon when used in this manner. A conviction carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison, up to 15 years of probation, and up to $15,000 in fines.
The charge also carries a baseline sentencing threshold that judges are obligated to respect. Under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code, aggravated battery is assigned a Level 7 offense severity ranking, and absent grounds for a downward departure, a judge is required to sentence a convicted person to a minimum of 21 months in prison.
Whether Burr has prior offenses that could compound that remains to be seen, but the admission he made at the scene is not the kind of detail a defense attorney would typically want in the record.
The Charge Requires More Than Just Hitting a Car
One nuance in Florida case law worth understanding here is that vehicle-on-vehicle aggravated battery charges are not automatic. Florida courts have held that to prove aggravated battery when a defendant rams another vehicle, the state must show that the occupants of the rammed vehicle were at least jostled or moved about within their vehicle.
In this case, the officer was treated at Morton Plant Hospital for minor injuries, which suggests the impact was substantial enough to establish that element without much difficulty.
The officer’s vehicle, a marked Ford F-150, is a truck that typically weighs upward of 4,500 pounds depending on configuration. A 2025 Kia Soul, by comparison, is a front-wheel-drive subcompact hatchback powered by a 147-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The Soul offers a roomy interior and practical cargo space for its size, but it is not exactly a heavy-impact vehicle by any measure.
The fact that the officer sustained any injury at all from this particular matchup speaks to the physics involved when a car accelerates deliberately into a stationary vehicle.
What Aggravated Battery With a Deadly Weapon Actually Means in Florida
Florida’s aggravated battery statute covers a broader range of scenarios than most people assume. A person commits aggravated battery in Florida if they intentionally touch or strike another person with the intent to cause great bodily harm, with a deadly weapon, or under circumstances where the defendant knew or should have known their victim was pregnant. The vehicle is not a loophole in the law. Courts have consistently recognized that a car operated with harmful intent meets the definition of a deadly weapon.
The charge becomes a first-degree felony, carrying a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, if the victim is a law enforcement officer. It is not immediately clear from the available information whether the charge was filed under that enhanced provision given that the target was a marked police vehicle with an officer inside. That distinction could matter considerably as the case moves forward.
A Brand-New Car Used for a Deliberate Crash
There is something worth noting about the choice of vehicle involved. The 2025 Kia Soul is, by most accounts, a cheerful and practical little car. Starting at around $20,490 for the base LX, it is a budget-friendly subcompact with a distinctive upright profile and a cabin that punches above its weight class in terms of interior room. It is not a car most people associate with aggressive driving behavior, which makes the incident all the more unusual. CarBuzz
Burr drove a brand-new model year vehicle into a police truck at a lit intersection, admitted responsibility, and then went quiet. Whether that silence reflects legal advice, remorse, or simply nothing at all is unknown. What is clear is that a Clearwater officer went to the hospital in the middle of the night over an act that, by the suspect’s own admission, was entirely intentional. The investigation is ongoing.
The Aftermath and What Comes Next
The officer was treated at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and released the same night. Burr was transported to the Pinellas County Jail. The Clearwater Police Department released the details of the arrest through a post on social media, which is consistent with standard departmental transparency practices for incidents involving injuries to officers.
Burr will face the Florida court system with a voluntary confession and a charge that Florida prosecutors pursue aggressively. Defense attorneys in Florida have noted that while the state’s case may appear strong on paper, charges like these can still be challenged once evidence is reviewed and witnesses are examined.
That is true in theory, though an on-scene admission to the intentional nature of the act tends to narrow the available defenses considerably. The case will be worth watching as it moves through the Pinellas County court system