‘Sorry about that, man.’ Motorcyclist stopped with no plate rams into cop, video shows

A motorcyclist apologized after hitting a corporal who tried to pull him over for driving without plates, Florida video shows.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal turned on his lights and sirens and tried to stop the motorcyclist, who was driving in Ocala on April 7, according to a post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.

The motorcyclist continued driving and “weaving in and out of traffic,” the post says. The corporal stopped at an intersection and positioned his sheriff’s vehicle in front of the motorcycle.

When the corporal got out of the vehicle, the motorcyclist accelerated and struck him, the post says.

Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows the motorcycle ram the corporal before the corporal drags the motorcyclist off the bike, shouting, “Get on the ground.”

The video shows the motorcyclist face-down on the pavement as the corporal handcuffs him.

After the corporal helps the man up, the motorcyclist says, “Sorry about that man. I didn’t have my plate on, and I freaked out. Sorry.”

Later, as he sits handcuffed on a center median, the corporal asks him why he fled.

“I freaked out, man,” he says. “I was stupid.”

“You’re going to jail today for fleeing and eluding,” the corporal says.

“Are you for real?” the motorcyclist asks.

When the corporal asks why his bike doesn’t have a tag, the motorcyclist explains that he has a tag, but he left it at home because he didn’t want to pay tolls.

If the motorcyclist would have stopped, he would have been cited for a “nonmoving violation” and fined $116, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Instead, he was arrested for a third-degree felony and, if he is convicted, he faces up to five (5) years in prison, a $5,000 fine, a mandatory driver’s license suspension of one to five years, and a mandatory adjudication of guilt (which will make him a convicted felon),” the post says.

The motorcyclist, who is 32, was arrested and charged with “fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Ocala is about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.

This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 12:30 PM with the headline "‘Sorry about that, man.’ Motorcyclist stopped with no plate rams into cop, video shows."