Sheriff: Man arrested in Florida after hitting officers with car

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man who allegedly struck several officers with his vehicle “in an attempt to evade arrest.”

On Monday around 5:30 p.m., HCSO officers attempted to stop 28-year-old Sean Bolton — who was driving a Chrysler 300 — for illegal window tinting and failure to stop at a stop sign. The sheriff's office said Bolton refused to stop and fled the scene of the accident.

Authorities eventually located Bolton near Carriage Pointe Drive in Gibsonton and began posting stop signs.

Bolton then drove his vehicle toward a deputy who was standing on the side of the road. The deputy was able to avoid the collision after “taking evasive action,” according to the sheriff's office.

They continued to pursue Bolton before eventually attempting to intercept his car. Bolton then rammed his car into the vehicles of two deputies and drove away, the sheriff's office said.

During the chase, a deputy crashed into a tree, HSCO said. Another deputy's vehicle crashed into a garden fence. During that impact, a fence post crashed through the window and narrowly missed the deputy, the sheriff's office said.

It ended when officers performed a PIT maneuver, according to the sheriff's office.

Three officers suffered minor injuries and were treated at Tampa General Hospital.

“This individual had multiple opportunities to do the right thing and stop, but instead he chose to continue his reckless and dangerous behavior, showing a complete disregard for the safety of our officers and the community members around him,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “His actions were irresponsible and could have had far more tragic consequences.”

Officers eventually arrested Bolton. He now faces several charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer with a motor vehicle, aggravated flight from police and driving while license suspended.