JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re learning more about the man arrested last week for running from a police officer who was hit by a vehicle during the pursuit.
Security video given to Action News Jax last week showed a suspect running down 103rd Street. In it, you can hear a JSO officer telling the suspect to stop.
The sheriff’s office said the injured officer had responded to a call regarding a domestic dispute around 11:50 p.m. in the 8000 block of 103rd Street. A female victim told police that she had been strangled and held against her will by Eric Smith.
The victim said she and Smith, 27, had been dating for three years and had been living together for several months. She told JSO that she and Smith had been in an argument over the phone that day about missing legal documents. Later, the victim said she was talking to her sister on the phone when Smith busted through the front door, breaking the chain that locks it.
In the arrest report, one of the victim’s siblings told police he had dropped her off at her apartment before visiting their mother, who lives nearby. He said that after he dropped his sister off, he received a call from another sibling who lives out of state telling him to return to the other apartment. He told police he opened the front door, saw the physical altercation, and told Smith to leave.
The victim reportedly had abrasions and bruises on her left arm, right arm, and neck. Police noted in the report that Smith has a documented history of domestic violence but was not arrested in two earlier incidents involving the victim.
JSO says Smith was walking out the front of the apartment complex when he was approached by an officer who ordered him to the ground. Smith refused and began to run.
The surveillance footage shows what looks like the two slowing down at the intersection of 103rd and California. From there, it looks like the suspect has his hands up and takes off again.
After that, the footage shows them about to cross 103rd, and they leave the scene. But that’s when police say the officer was hit.
While you can’t see it, you can hear the moment of impact, which police say caused major injuries to the officer’s lower legs, requiring surgery.
Smith was taken into custody a short time later by responding officers. He is charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, domestic battery, resisting an officer without violence and criminal mischief, according to court records.
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