Lemma said Rudolph refused commands to turn off his car, and while Blais was “attached to the window,” Rudolph drove about 20 feet, dragging him. Blais was “still engaged” with Rudolph when he stopped the car, and he pulled his gun out while radioing for backup, Lemma told reporters.
Rudolph then grabbed Blais and held him as he drove the car another roughly 100 yards toward I-4, according to Lemma.
"Deputy Blais falls off the car, rolls into the median and is witnessed by eye witnesses all around,” Lemma said at the news conference.
Rudolph’s black Escalade “spun out" and he fled on foot, sparking an hours-long search that involved several nearby agencies, according to Lemma. He was apprehended in another vehicle about 4:30 p.m. by the Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team.
During the incident, Blais fired into Rudolph’s car, striking him in the leg, Lemma said. It’s unclear when Blais discharged his gun or how many bullets he fired.
"I don’t know how many rounds were fired into the car, but it was probably not enough,” Lemma told reporters.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bob Kealing said.
The sheriff said Rudolph, who is a convicted felon, was seen by witnesses throwing a gun in bushes as he fled the scene and had another firearm in his car.
Originally Posted by voodoo_man
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