SARASOTA, Fla. — New bodycam footage released by the Sarasota Police Department shows the moments before and after an officer crashed into an 8-year-old boy on his dirt bike.
It happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday in the area of 22nd Street and Maple Avenue. Police said the officer was leaving the scene of a different call when the crash happened.
The child, later identified as 8-year-old Gerard Butler, was taken to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. 10 Tampa Bay's Adaure Achumba spoke with the boy's mother, Regina Sanders, who said her son has undergone two brain surgeries, a knee surgery and is scheduled for jaw surgery.
"The cops you just see them flying at least hitting 60 miles and they don't care about the stop signs just flying through the roads," Sanders said. "I was inside and I just heard something scraping and then you just see the little minibike on there."
The video shows the officer and multiple witnesses run over to Butler after the crash happened. The officer was also seen rendering aid to the child.
"The cops you just see them flying at least hitting 60 miles and they don't care about the stop signs just flying through the roads," a witness said. "I was inside and I just heard something scraping and then you just see the little minibike on there."
Sanders told 10 Tampa Bay that while Butler is fighting for his life, the doctors and nurses are assuring her that he is improving and will pull through.
Sanders added that her son had received the bike over the weekend as an early birthday present. She explained that he was riding the bike home after being scared by police activity in the neighborhood.
"The cops teach us not to speed in residential areas. They have speed limits on the side of the roads for a reason. Whether he had a call or not, you had no business going that fast," Sanders said.
It's not clear how fast the officer was driving. He is on restrictive administrative duty as the Florida Highway Patrol works with the department to investigate the crash.
"Our thoughts remain with the 8-year-old child and his family as he continues to receive care for serious injuries following last night’s tragic accident," the police department wrote. "The officer involved was uninjured but is understandably shaken by the incident."
