Off-duty reserve officer to suspect: ‘I’ll blow your … brains out’

An off-duty reserve Orlando police officer told a shoplifting suspect he would “blow” his “[expletive] brains out” while he was apprehending him on Sunday, according to a 911 call.

Now the Orlando Police Department will investigate whether reserve officer David McKinnon violated any policies during the chase of the suspects, a spokeswoman said.

McKinnon was at a Best Buy near West Colonial Drive and Clarke Road in Ocoee when he saw four suspects running from the store and carrying Play Station 4s just before 2:30 p.m. They jumped into a white Buick and started to drive away. McKinnon said he thought that was suspicious so he called dispatchers and started following them in his personal vehicle.

The Buick traveled on State Road 408 and weaved in and out of traffic at more than 90 mph, according to McKinnon. He said he was following “at a safe distance.” The suspects got off at the Hiawassee Road exit and ran a stop sign where they collided with a Toyota. No one was injured in the crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The four men fled on foot, and McKinnon chased down the driver, later identified as Anthony C. Peterson.

Peterson apparently asks McKinnon to “calm down” and says at one point that he “can’t breathe.” McKinnon repeatedly yells “get on the ground” and “you are going to jail.”

McKinnon said he tackled Peterson and, with the help of a citizen, bound his hands and feet with zip ties until police arrived.

Another suspect, Darvis D. James, also was arrested. Both suspects were charged with grand theft and taken to the Orange County Jail.

Peterson, 24, also was charged with driving without a license and running a red light, according to FHP. Records show he had a warrant for his arrest on another grand theft related charge. James, 20, is currently on probation for grand theft and burglary, Florida Department of Corrections records show. The two other suspects have not been arrested.

Orlando police’s pursuit policy states that officers can engage in a pursuit if there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the suspects committed a “violent forcible felony.” Grand theft is not among the violent felonies listed by OPD.