Man Who Struck Deputy With Car Goes Before Judge
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A man shot by a Broward sheriff's deputy after he hit him with his car went before a judge on Thursday.
Michael Mainolfi is facing seven charges including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and reckless driving.
It all started Wednesday afternoon when a Broward sheriff's deputy spotted Mainolfi, 51, sitting in his car in the parking lot of the Dolphin Harbor Inn Motel in Lauderdale by the Sea. Mainolfi was wanted for aggravated fleeing and petit theft. When the deputy approached the car, Mainolfi reacted.
Mainolfi threw his car into reverse and hit the officer and his vehicle, according to the sheriff's office. The deputy pulled his gun and shot at Mainolfi, hitting him in the arm.
Mainolfi drove the wrong way down a street with other deputies in pursuit. He ended up in a parking lot at Holy Cross Hospital where he crashed into several other vehicles.
Mainolfi was then taken into custody.
During the hearing, the prosecutor told the judge that Mainolfi has a criminal past including domestic violence, drug arrests, grand theft and robbery, the latter landed him in prison. Mainolfi also had two 'failure to appear in court' notices and was not to be trusted. Mainolfi said that wasn't true.
"Driving a wrong way down the road, putting officers safety at risk to avoid arrest. I think any person that would go to these lengths to avoid arrest, there has to be a concern about their future appearance in court," the prosecutor told the judge.
"Sir, you can't tell someone, 'oh I've always been back to court. I don't have other failure to appears' when that's just not true," said Judge Michael Davis.
Longtime Lauderdale by the Sea resident Leslie Parker said she was surprised by what happened just outside her door.
"A couple of minutes later I looked outside my window and I see a bunch of cops parked outside my house and I'm like 'what's going on here?' And I leaned over and I see yellow tape. Yellow tape is no good," said Parker. "Lauderdale by the Sea cops are always navigating the area to keep it safe and nice because of that. So yesterday was a shock, it was a shock. And glad the officer's okay and that man is in jail."
Wednesday's incident marks the third BSO deputy-involved shooting in 12 days. In one case a man was killed, in the other a 17-year-old and a deputy was injured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate all three shootings.
