Bradenton officer injured while chasing domestic battery suspect

BRADENTON -- A married couple's argument Tuesday ended with the man striking the woman with a blunt object, a foot chase, a stun gun deployment and a minor injury to a police officer, according to the Bradenton Police Department.

Officers were called to the 200 block of 10th Avenue East at 4:58 p.m. after Michael Cooper, 49, struck his wife with a glass vase multiple times until it broke, according to a report. The victim had a "severe laceration" from her upper left forehead, through her left eyelid and down through her cheek.

Cooper also reportedly punched her multiple times in the head and face before she ran to a neighbor's house and asked them to call law enforcement. The victim said the argument started when she threatened to leave Cooper, who has been her husband for 23 years.

A neighbor said she could hear the victim screaming for help and had seen Cooper striking her in the head.

When officers arrived on scene, Cooper ran away and was hit with a stun gun after a brief foot chase. He told officers that the victim pushed him first and then he forced her to the floor and did nothing else.

During the chase, one officer struck his shin on a large metal object, according to the report. He was treated and released from Manatee Memorial Hospital. The victim was taken to Blake Medical Center.

Cooper was charged with domestic battery with great bodily harm and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held in the Manatee County jail without bond.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Bradenton officer injured while chasing domestic battery suspect ."