Florida Man Throws Infant At Deputies During Police Chase

A Florida man is behind bars following a wild police chase in which he threw a baby at police officers. Authorities said that an officer tried to pull over John James III for a traffic violation, but he refused to stop.

James evaded officers and was driving recklessly, forcing them to use a helicopter to track him. After roughly 40 minutes, James struck an unmarked patrol car. Deputies then deployed stop sticks to disable his SUV, forcing him to pull into an apartment complex in Vero Beach.

James got out of his vehicle, and as officers began to chase after him, he threw a two-month-old infant at them.

"He just turned around, no regard, not a little toss or anything, he just turned around, overhand threw this two-month-old at me from about six feet away," Deputy Jacob Curby told WPEC.

One of the officers managed to catch the infant, who was unharmed.

"He's just a cute little baby, fluffy hair, had a cute little outfit on," Curby said. "Luckily, we were able to get the baby from him before he did trip and fall or try to carjack somebody else."

Officers tracked down James and tried to arrest him as he kicked and bit them. He was eventually taken into custody and is facing charges of aggravated child abuse, reckless driving, resisting arrest with violence, and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer. He was booked into the county jail and is being held without bond.

"You can't throw a baby at us and expect us to treat you with kid gloves," Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a press release.

Photo: Indian River County Sheriff's Office