Seminole County, Fla. — Dash cam and body cam video shows the moment a traffic stop went horribly wrong in Seminole County.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office shared the video on their Facebook page stating, “In the spirit of transparency, we are sharing the full video of both Deputy Blais’s in-car camera and body worn camera from the incident that occurred yesterday in Heathrow/Lake Mary at I-4 and 46A. Deputy Blais was treated and released at the hospital yesterday for non-life threatening injuries. Our suspect was apprehended shortly before 4:30 p.m. yesterday, 06/29/2019”
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Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said Deputy Aaron Blais pulled Rocky Rudolph Jr., 38, over in Lake Mary for a window tinting infraction around 9:40 a.m.Saturday.
When Blais asked about a marijuana smell in the car, Rudolph turned combative.
Lemma said Rudolph tried to flee and dragged Blais at speeds of 40 to 50 mph down County Road 46A near I-4.
Lemma said Deputy Blais was able to fire shots at Rudolph, who was also armed, striking Rudolph in the leg.
The sheriff said his deputy was thrown from the car just before it entered I-4, where Rudolph lost control and bailed from the car on foot.
It wasn’t until almost eight hours later that law enforcement officers caught up with Rudolph in Longwood, the sheriff said.
Lemma said an off-duty Belle Isle officer noticed a suspicious vehicle in his neighborhood and called law enforcement. When deputies responded, they said they found Rudolph in the car driven by someone they believe to be his daughter.
“This is a bad dude who almost killed one of our deputy sheriffs on the side of the road,” Lemma said.
Lemma said Rudolph has a lengthy criminal record, having been charged over the years with 32 felonies. He said Rudolph will now be charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
The sheriff said Rudolph is in the hospital being treated for his gunshot wound and that Deputy Blais was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon.