TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A man is now behind bars after an attempted escape from troopers and officers which included jumping into the bay and swimming to a nearby island in Pinellas County.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a trooper tried performing a traffic stop Saturday around 3:15 p.m. on a dark-colored Hyundai for a tinted windshield.
The driver, later identified as 38-year-old Rashad Cutler, pulled into a nearby parking lot of a restaurant before the trooper could activate their emergency lights, FHP said. When the trooper did turn on his lights, the car made a right turn in the parking lot, driving into a dead end.
Troopers say Cutler got out of the car and began running. The trooper chased Cutler down the sidewalk on Gandy Boulevard until he jumped the fence at a yacht sales shop and then jumped in the water.
According to FHP, Cutler stayed around the dock for a bit, and the trooper and Pinellas Park police officers, who saw the chase and began helping, tried to get Cutler out of the water with rafts and ladders.
Troopers say Cutler began to swim deeper into the water and refused to take life rafts the trooper and officers were throwing his direction.
Fearing that Cutler was not going to remain swimming, FHP said the troopers and a St. Pete officer entered the water with a lifesaving floatation device and swam towards Cutler in the event he began to drown.
Officials say Cutler started swimming toward an island and the trooper and St. Pete officer formed a perimeter around the island he got on.
FWC and Coast Guard also responded to the scene with boats to help establish the perimeter, troopers say.
A K-9 from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and started searching the island for Cutler.
Just before dark, troopers say Cutler was found hiding under tree roots near where he entered the island. Cutler tried to flee again, was tased, and taken into custody by FWC.
Because of the amount of time spent in the cold water, Cutler was taken to Bayfront Medical Center for precaution and is currently being treated.
FHP said troopers found what they assumed of being thousands of blank and fraudulent checks, different driver’s licenses, a Walmart price maker, and many other blank check papers with a check printer inside Cutler’s car.
Cutler currently has an active warrant out of Pinellas County for a failure to appear and resisting without violence, according to troopers. He also has a history of unauthorized use of a driver’s license.