BRADENTON, Fla. — A Manatee County man was arrested Sunday night after the sheriff's office said he hit a deputy with a van and tried to hit another.
According to a news release, detectives with the Violent Crimes Task Force were doing patrols around 9 p.m. near 33rd Avenue East in Bradenton. Deputies saw a gold van facing eastbound and running. They say they learned the van's registered owner, Barry Gardner, had an active warrant for contempt of court.
Three detectives approached the van, the release said. One came up to the driver's said and told the driver, "sheriff's office, show me your hands."
Detectives said the driver did not comply but instead put the van in drive and accelerated, hitting a detective and causing him to fall to the ground. At this point, the van was now headed straight at one of the other detectives, according to the release.
The sheriff's office said a detective fired two rounds at the driver before jumping out of the way. The driver then drove away.
Deputies later found Gardner at a home and arrested him on the warrant, but detectives said he wasn't the person who hit the detective with the van. The sheriff's office said Gardner loaned his van to Joseph Hanold.
Hanold was later found across the street from the Moose Lodge on 44th Avenue E. He was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.
The sheriff's office said the van was left running and parked in a field. Investigators said the van had one bullet hole in the center of the windshield, but Hanold was not hit or injured.
The detective hit by the van was also not injured, the sheriff's office said.
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