MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man who crashed a vehicle into the water on U.S. Highway 1 near the entrance to the Florida Keys was shot by at least one Miami-Dade police officer Thursday after snatching a Taser from an officer and pointing it at the officer, authorities said.
Miami-Dade police Sgt. Carlos Rosario said the incident occurred near mile marker 114.
A view from Sky 10 showed an overturned vehicle submerged in the murky water near the scene.
Rosario said the rollover crash happened about noon and several good Samaritans helped get the driver out of the vehicle.
Rosario said a marked Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unit pulled up to help, but the driver was uncooperative and started to walk away.
The FWC officer dispatched Miami-Dade police for help and two officers arrived at the scene.
Rosario said the driver continued to be uncooperative with the officers, which led to an altercation.
"They approached the driver of the vehicle and, still being uncooperative, the driver reached for the officer's electronic control device, also known as a Taser, removed the Taser from the officer's person and pointed it at the officer," Rosario said.
The sergeant said at least one of the officers eventually fired at the man, striking him.
The suspect was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center, where he is in stable condition.
An 18-mile stretch of highway between Florida City and Key Largo was closed during the investigation. Northbound lanes have since reopened, but southbound traffic was being diverted to Card Sound Road.
The officers involved in the shooting have not been identified, but police said one is an 27-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department and the other has been on the force for eight years.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the police-involved shooting, which is standard protocol.
It's unclear what charges the suspect will face once he is released from the hospital.
His identity has not been released.