If you decide to run from the police, you should count on being stopped. And you should likely count on being stopped with a taser.A Hillsborough County, Florida traffic stop over a reported stolen license plate ended with deputies using a taser after the driver ran, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies made the stop just before 9 p.m. on July 7, when driver Osmiel Duran, 40, was arrested.
Deputies moved to detain Duran, and he decided to make a break for it from his vehicle on foot, as seen in the video. A deputy made a decision as well: to deploy a taser. It didn’t take long for Duran to go down. Deputies took him into custody at the scene.
According to WFLA, Duran was charged with operating an unregistered vehicle, driving while his license was suspended or revoked as a repeat offender, resisting an officer without violence, and petit theft of $100 or less – so perhaps running wasn’t the best decision he could have made in the moment. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed he has 12 prior convictions for driving with a suspended license.
The stop started with the license plate, which came back as reported stolen when deputies checked it. A traffic stop that begins with a flagged plate can grow once a driver runs, since the flight and the reason for the original stop can each bring a separate charge. Deputies listed the charges without detailing the facts behind each one.
What Florida’s Suspended License Law Says
In Florida, driving on a suspended or revoked license is a criminal offense, of course, but it actually gets worse with additional offenses. The first time is usually treated as a misdemeanor, but it can eventually end up as a third-degree felony. Drivers with a long string of suspensions can also be designated habitual traffic offenders, which carries its own felony charge for driving again.
The Sheriff’s Office tied Duran to 12 prior convictions for the same offense, a history that can move a suspended-license charge into felony territory. Deputies have not released the degree of each charge he faces in this case. Every charge is an allegation, and Duran is presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.
How Do Deputies Spot a Stolen License Plate?
Patrol deputies will usually check license plates against state databases, either with automated readers or through their dispatchers. Plates that come back as reported stolen gives them cause to pull the vehicle over. That’s how this entire mess got started to begin with.
Once a driver runs, however, the police have to decide whether they’re worth pursuing and how much force to use in an arrest. A taser can take them down swiftly and typically without injury. At this point, the Sheriff’s Office has said only that Duran is in custody and facing several charges, without laying out how the stolen plate or his record will shape the case. But one thing’s for sure: next time he probably won’t decide to run.