KEY LARGO, Fla. – Newly-obtained dashboard and body camera video shows the arrest of a Cutler Bay man accused of riding his motorcycle at 160 mph in the Florida Keys and, at one point, clipping a Monroe County deputy’s gun belt as he fled law enforcement.
According to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a sergeant first saw Christopher Johann Petersen speeding north on the Overseas Highway, near mile marker 82 in Islamorada at around 11 a.m. on Aug 13.
The report states that same sergeant had initially tried to stop a motorcyclist accompanying Petersen who was also riding recklessly.Multiple deputies tried stopping Petersen at both mile marker 95 and near John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo to no avail.
Deputy Daniel Valdes wrote in the report that he then saw Petersen riding further north on County Road 905 and also tried to pull him over, but he continued to flee, reaching a top speed of 160 mph. Another deputy later saw Petersen head towards Ocean Reef, then turn around, the report states.
Valdes wrote that’s when he tried stopping Petersen again as the biker approached a three-way stop. The deputy wrote that he got out of his cruiser and drew his gun in an attempt to stop Petersen.
Petersen made eye contact with Valdes and then accelerated, clipping his gun belt with his bike, knocking his radio to the ground and destroying his taser cartridge, the report states.
Valdes and a sergeant tried to purse Petersen but were unable to catch up, according to the report. Deputies said he later crashed into a truck in front of the Circle K at 106501 Overseas Highway in Key Largo. Authorities later took him into custody and to the hospital.
Body camera video shows Valdes describing the moment.
“I drew my gun out: ‘Stop! Stop!’ (He) brushes me with the bike, strikes me right here and books it,” the deputy said.
The sheriff’s office says Petersen had just been stopped the day before.
“Yeah, they had given him a notice to appear for no motorcycle endorsement down south yesterday,” a deputy says in the video. “So that’s he why gunned it? OK. Yeah, that’s why he fled.”
We reached out to Petersen’s listed attorney and are waiting to hear back. The 21-year-old faces multiple charges, including fleeing and eluding and aggravated battery. He has a hearing scheduled for November.