Seminole County deputies had surrounded a suspected car thief Thursday afternoon who fled down Interstate 4, speeding past other drivers, when the man took a handful of pills, records show.

Christopher McHaffie, 40, was inside a red Dodge Magnum on I-4 west, near the exit to State Road 436. Seminole County deputies released video Friday that shows the car chase and arrest, which shut down the interstate Thursday afternoon.

The car, reported stolen in Orange County, had driven over tire-puncturing stop sticks and come to a stop in the middle of the highway with its bumper nearly flapping off. Deputies did not know who the driver was — he was not identified until after his arrest.

Deputies blocked traffic behind it and called for McHaffie to come out of the car.

“He’s crouching down, reaching under the seat,” a deputy officials did not name said on the scanner. And then: “It looks like he’s taking pills.”

The deputies did not know what the pills were, but decided they had to get McHaffie out of the car, “fearing he may have overdosed,” spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said Friday. 

A group of deputies went up to the car in a huddle. One used a stick to smash the passenger-side window, then the driver’s side window. They pulled McHaffie out, onto the ground.

According to deputies, McHaffie “continued to resist.” Deputies hit him with a beanbag round and two Taser cartridges to subdue him, Cannaday said. Then they administered naloxone, a nasal spray that can block the effects of opioid overdoses.

Deputies then arrested him and took him to a local hospital, where he remains. Once his doctors release him, he will be taken to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County, Cannaday said.

Determining McHaffie’s identity proved to be a challenge, records show. He did not have any ID on him, and his fingerprints had been chewed off. Officials took photos of him and sent them to the sheriff’s office Domestic Security Division, which matched the photos to others of McHaffie.

He faces charges of grand theft auto, resisting arrest, possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, larceny, fraud and violation of probation.

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Police said the man stopped his car on the Eau Gallie Causeway about 3 p.m. in the middle of a rain storm, got out and stripped naked, according to the report.

Police said the man stopped his car on the Eau Gallie Causeway about 3 p.m. in the middle of a rain storm, got out and stripped naked, according to the report.

Police said the man stopped his car on the Eau Gallie Causeway about 3 p.m. in the middle of a rain storm, got out and stripped naked, according to the report.

Police said the man stopped his car on the Eau Gallie Causeway about 3 p.m. in the middle of a rain storm, got out and stripped naked, according to the report.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina holds a press conference about and officer-involved shooting at the Wal-Mart where Lt. Debra Clayton was killed.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina holds a press conference about and officer-involved shooting at the Wal-Mart where Lt. Debra Clayton was killed.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office released helicopter video that shows a car chase along Interstate 4 on Thursday. Christopher McHaffie, 40, of Orlando, was finally caught, arrested, and charged with Burglary, Grand Theft, Grand Theft Auto, Diving with a Suspended License or Revoked, Destroying Evidence, Fleeing and Eluding, and Reckless Driving.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office released helicopter video that shows a car chase along Interstate 4 on Thursday. Christopher McHaffie, 40, of Orlando, was finally caught, arrested, and charged with Burglary, Grand Theft, Grand Theft Auto, Diving with a Suspended License or Revoked, Destroying Evidence, Fleeing and Eluding, and Reckless Driving.

Prosecutors say Sedlak attempted to access the computers at the organization by trying hundreds of thousands of times to log into employees’ email accounts in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

 

 

Prosecutors say Sedlak attempted to access the computers at the organization by trying hundreds of thousands of times to log into employees’ email accounts in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

 

 

The other officers arrived to find Rivera on the ground trying to pin down the 300-pound, 5-foot-6-inch man, later identified as Algernon Jemau Baker, 23, of Orlando, according to the report.

The other officers arrived to find Rivera on the ground trying to pin down the 300-pound, 5-foot-6-inch man, later identified as Algernon Jemau Baker, 23, of Orlando, according to the report.

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