Trending Topics

Video: Fla. man steals two police cars in wild pursuit

The man crashed the first cruiser and jumped out into a second patrol car when officers surrounded him

cocoa police pursuit

Cocoa (Fla.) Police via WESH News YouTube

By David Harris
Orlando Sentinel

COCOA, Fla. — The Cocoa police chief will review the agency’s policies after a man stole two police cruisers and led officers on a wild chase down I-95 Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson said.

Officers were speaking to 33-year-old Xavier Cummings while investigating a disturbance near a hotel on State Road 520 around 3:45 p.m. Cummings then jumped into one of the nearby patrol cars and took off. He got onto northbound I-95 and continued into Volusia County where a Cocoa police officer ran him off the road, causing him to crash into a wooded area.

Officers approached the car at gunpoint, but he got out and ran around them to another cruiser where he got in and sped away. He drove down I-95 for a few more miles before Volusia deputies deployed stop sticks and he crashed into a ditch. Deputies took him into custody.

“I’m CIA, I’m FBI,” Cummings kept screaming at the deputies, body-worn camera footage released Friday showed.

He’s facing a slew of charges including grand theft auto, armed burglary and aggravated fleeing and eluding. He’s at the Volusia County Jail without bond.

Cocoa police Spokesperson Yvonne Martinez said Chief Evander Collier is reviewing the entire incident.

“This review will examine the department’s policies and procedures to determine if any violations occurred,” Martinez said in an email. “Chief Collier will also be making determinations as to whether any agency policies should be updated and/or added.”

No one was injured in the incident.

©2021 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU