PALM COAST, Fla. – Florida deputies released shocking bodycam footage this week of a man using a 1-year-old toddler as a human shield following a wild chase.
The incident happened Sept. 27 in Flagler County.
According to deputies, Brandon Matthew Douglas Leohner, 27, of Palm Coast, was accused of kidnapping his girlfriend’s child from her home while armed with a gun.
Deputies said they eventually spotted him driving recklessly with the toddler in his lap.
According to authorities, Leohner led them on a chase, driving into oncoming traffic before entering a Target parking lot and then stopping inside the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s.
The video shows Leohner holding the child in front of his body as deputies point their tasers at him.
“Put the baby down!” a deputy is heard yelling at Leohner. “Get on the ground!”
A deputy eventually deploys his taser although Leohner was still holding the child.
Leohner is heard screaming and falling to the ground with the child in his arms.
Luckily, he did not fall face forward and a deputy was able to grab the child, who appeared to be unharmed from the fall.
“Dada, dada,” the toddler is heard crying in the video while reaching his hand toward Leohner.
Authorities said Leohner tried crawling under a truck and running off before he was detained with the help of a K9.
He is facing charges of kidnapping, child neglect, using a minor as a shield and resisting arrest.