A Hernando County sheriff's canine unit helped to arrest a man who got away in an motorized scooter after he committed a traffic violation early Wednesday, officials said.
A Hernando sheriff's deputy attempted to make a traffic stop, but the man in the motorized scooter rode way northbound on Airmont Drive, according to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office tweet. He crashed the scooter in the 1400 block of Greenview Avenue then ran away.
The incident began shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday on Spring Hill Drive near Kenlake Avenue.
Hernando County sheriff's Sgt. William Hillman saw a man operating a red motorized scooter headed eastbound on Spring Hill Drive near Kenlake Avenue. Hillman attempted to make contact with the man operating the scooter, but he rode away north on Airmont Drive.
The scooter went out of control and crashed near Greenview Avenue. Its operator, later identified as Ford K. Perkins, ran away.
Hernando sheriff's Cpl. Stephen Miller and his canine partner, Justice, responded to the scene and tracked Perkins to bushes on Airmont Drive, where Perkins was hiding.
When Perkins refused to come out, Justice was deployed to apprehend Perkins. When the police dog attempted to apprehend Perkins, the suspect began punching the dog with a closed fist in the rib cage area.
Miller and Hillman were able to take Perkins into custody. Hernando County Fire Rescue emergency personnel responded to the scene and treated Perkins for a dog bite to the right forearm before he was taken to a local hospital.
Perkins were arrested on charges of fleeing and eluding, resist officer without violence, battery on a police dog, criminal mischief, and driving with license suspended/revoked. His bond was set at $9,500.
