A Fruitland Park man who was arrested with cocaine slammed his head into a patrol vehicle until he cut his head.
An officer observed a red Dodge Grand Caravan traveling northbound on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 at 2:15 a.m. Friday, May 8, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. He recognized the driver as 38-year-old Ryan Marshall Freeman, whose license had been suspended twice for an unpaid traffic fine. It had also been cancelled in March.
Knowing this, the officer conducted a traffic stop at Picciola and Picciola Cutoff Road. Freeman admitted he did not have a license and conceded it had been suspended. He then denied having anything illegal in his vehicle but denied consent for a search, the report said.
The report noted that the officer had probable cause to believe Freeman was driving intentionally and unlawfully despite knowing his license had been suspended. Because of this, he extended the traffic stop and deployed his K-9 partner to check for narcotics. The K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics, and a search of the vehicle ensued.
As the officer opened the driver’s door, he saw a pack of cigarettes in the door pocket that contained the same type of cigarette that Freeman was smoking at the start of the traffic stop. Inside the pack was a clear plastic wrapper with several pieces of cocaine. He also found a brown bag partially concealed under the driver’s seat. It contained a glass pipe with white residue and a tightly-wound piece of Brillo on one end, the report said.
The officer returned to Freeman at that point and put him into handcuffs before continuing the search. He overheard Freeman becoming argumentative with another officer on scene, so the officer decided to put him in the back of a patrol vehicle. But while being searched, he forcefully slammed his head directly above the right-rear door, the report said.
The officer held Freeman against the car to prevent him from hurting himself and warned him to stop or be taken to the ground. He then tensed his body and tried to pull away, saying he did not have anything on him. The officer proceeded to open the door to put him in the vehicle, to which he again struck his head on the car, the report said.
Freeman was subsequently escorted to the ground and stayed there for several seconds until he calmed down. Once moved to the back of the patrol vehicle, he started striking his head against the prisoner partition. The officer removed him from the vehicle, told him to stop and tried to get him to go back inside, the report said.
Freeman stated, “I don’t want to go in the car right now,” while tensing his body and refusing to sit. The officer pushed his waist into the vehicle and was able to close the door. A few moments later, the officer was told Freeman had a small laceration on his head. EMS later evaluated him, after which he refused to be taken to the hospital, the report said.
Freeman was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while license suspended or revoked with knowledge (second offense). He was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $4,500.