Cops say drunk driver tried to hit deputy. They then stopped him from jumping off Skyway

A 23-year-old Palmetto man is in jail, after Manatee County sheriff’s deputies stopped him from jumping off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge after a chase.

Deputies say the man tried to run over a deputy during a DUI traffic stop in Bradenton about 2 a.m. Sunday.

The man then led deputies on a pursuit to the Skyway, where he stopped his vehicle and “attempted” to jump, according to an arrest report.

“I wanted to acknowledge the heroic actions of these deputies and emphasize the issues law enforcement officers face each and every day and how a simple possible DUI stop can turn into a life and death situation, and how things can escalate quickly and how you can find yourself going through a plethora of emotions,” Sheriff Rick Wells said during a news conference Wednesday.

The Bradenton Herald is not naming the suspect because officials believe he planned to take his life by jumping off the bridge.

Deputy Jacob Merrill was off duty from his shift on Anna Maria Island and heading home for the night when he spotted the suspect on State Road 64 near Cypress Creek Boulevard swerving and unable to maintain his driving lane. Merrill initiated a possible DUI traffic stop but he refused to stop.

“I lost sight of him but was able to reacquire him,” Merrill said.

The man stopped this time and let a passenger out of the vehicle.

As Merrill exited his patrol car, the suspect, “attempted to run me over, reversed and again drove at my car then drove off,” Merrill said. “In that moment I’m not going to lie, there is fear that runs through you ... concern for your safety, you’re concerned for the safety of citizens that were around, including the passenger. I wanted the vehicle stopped. If he poses a danger to me, he poses a danger to the public.”

Merrill got on the radio and it wasn’t long before multiple deputies and the sheriff’s office aviation unit were involved in trying to locate the suspect.

Detecives John Jones and Tyler Ackerman were on Interstate 75 looking for a stolen vehicle when the radio chatter began and immediately turned around. They located the suspect at U.S. 301 North and 60th Avenue East. Other units began arriving and Ackerman was able to get in front of the suspect, successfully deploying stop sticks that blew out two of his tires.

The suspect managed to continue and after almost losing control and crashing on at least two occasions, ground units backed off and let the aviation unit continue to track the suspect. He drove to the top of the bridge where he stopped.

Deputies said the pursuit reached upwards of 90 mph at times.

Ackerman and Jones were the first to arrive to see the suspect leave his vehicle and swing both legs out over the barrier.

Jones made contact first and immediately tried to deescalate the situation.

“Your thoughts are initially we needed to arrest this guy, but it went from arrest to trying to stop him from jumping off the bridge,” Jones said. “You talk to him as calmly as you can and luckily I was able to distract him, which is something we are trained to do. It’s a flip of a switch.”

The suspect was trying to call his mother, deputies say, “to say his final farewell.”

Deputies acknowledged he was speaking with someone, but they could not confirm that it was the suspect’s mother. The suspect also was talking to Jones who noted, “He used some choice words but kept saying he’s done this before and he’s not going back to jail.”

The suspect was on supervised release after being convicted for DUI and fleeing to elude in October 2018. He has prior convictions for DUI and fleeing to elude in January 2018. At the time, he was out on bond for a November 2017 DUI arrest.

Ackerman was the one who eventually was able to get behind the suspect and pull him to safety.

“The longer he was up there, the more we were getting concerned about him doing something,” Ackerman said. “He saw us behind him and kept looking at us, but his phone rang and at that point his right side was blocked and I was able to get behind him. I just got as low as I could and got underneath his arms and pulled him off the barrier.”

Ackerman said multiple things were going through his mind, including the possibility of making a mistake and seeing the suspect drop into the water below, or perhaps even slipping and going over the bridge railing with the suspect.

“As soon as he got on the barrier, it became an entirely different situation,” Ackerman said. “It’s a changing of hats. You go from trying to arrest somebody who was trying to hurt a deputy to a completely different scenario. I think he needs help mentally, but the charges need to be addressed.”

Ultimately, the traffic stop occurred just over the Manatee County/Hillsborough County line on the bridge. The suspect was turned over to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, but he is charged in Manatee County with fleeing to elude, DUI and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Wells said he expects the suspect to be back in Manatee County custody within a couple of weeks.

“I just want to acknowledge how proud I am of these deputies and everything they went through and how they handled themselves and the entire situation,” Wells said. “Anytime you are in a pursuit it is extremely stressful. Emotions are high and you worry about the safety of yourself, the person you’re chasing and the public.”

Wells said his deputies are highly trained to deal with these situations.

“You have to calm yourself down and when you go from that situation to actually having to try and save a man from jumping off the bridge who wants to commit suicide, that takes a lot of training,” Wells said. “It’s not easy. Everything they did was exceptional, heroic and I’m so proud of them.”

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 11:00 AM.