He wasn’t who they were looking for. Deputies say Bradenton man tried to run them over
A Bradenton man is facing charges after he tried to run over detectives when they approached the van he was driving, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
At about 9 p.m. Sunday, three detectives with the sheriff’s Violent Crimes Task Force spotted a gold Toyota van, whose registered owner had an outstanding warrant, according to the agency. Detectives turned around and then approached the van from the front in the 600 block of 33rd Avenue East in Bradenton.
The first detective to approach the van placed his left hand on the driver’s side fender and announced to the driver, “Sheriff’s Office, show me your hands,” the report said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver, later identified as Joseph Lloyd Hanold, responded by throwing the van into drive, and accelerating toward the detective. The fender hit the detective, causing him to fall to the ground. All three detectives were wearing their black department-issued body armor with the word “SHERIFF” in bold silver lettering.
Hanold continued to accelerate the van toward another of the detectives, according to the sheriff’s office report. But detectives fired twice at the driver and jumped out of the van’s way. Hanold then took off, headed east on 33rd Avenue East.
The van’s registered owner, Barry Gardner, was later found and arrested by deputies at a home in the 1600 block of 53rd Avenue East, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies realized that Gardner did not fit the description of the man who had attempted to run over detectives, but learned from Gardner that he had loaned Hanold his van.
At 11:35 p.m., the sheriff’s office found the van across the street from the Moose Lodge, 215 44th Avenue East, and arrested Hanold. The van had one bullet hole in the windshield, but Hanold had not been struck.
There were no injuries reported, including the deputy who was knocked to the ground by the van.
The sheriff’s office has launched an internal affairs, as is department policy, to determine if the shooting was a justified use of lethal force.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 12:34 PM.
