A 39-year-old Connecticut man was tased and arrested by police in the middle of a violent confrontation with his girlfriend in Florida, according to authorities.
The day prior, the girlfriend called police, informing them of threatening text messages allegedly sent by her estranged boyfriend Aaron Thayer, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said. The messages included texts that read “I hope you die” and “Imma kill you,” according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Before Thayer was apprehended by law enforcement, authorities received a call from the girlfriend. The woman claimed Thayer was “armed with a tire iron,” attempting to break into her residence and kill her, according to the sheriff’s office. Thayer also had a loaded firearm on his person at the time, authorities added.
When Flagler County deputies arrived on the scene, they found the woman running from Thayer. “Deputies protected the victim by having her hide behind their patrol car and confronted Thayer and attempted to take him into custody,” the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “However, Thayer was not compliant and was tased,” the statement continued. The moment Thayer was tased was caught on officer body cameras.
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said Thayer “told the victim he was going to kill her and less than 24 hours later he had driven all night and was at her door to kill her.”
Authorities charged Thayer with written threats to kill, attempted premeditated murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon, among other charges. (RELATED: Native American And Former Marine Tased After Walking Off Park Path, Video Shows)
“I am so thankful that my deputies were able to intercept this guy and used their training, tactics and de-escalation techniques before he was able to hurt anyone,” Staly went on to say in the statement. “They handled a very volatile and dangerous situation by running toward danger to protect the victim. This situation that could have had an entirely different outcome with either the victim, suspect or deputies injured or killed if not for the heroic efforts of our deputies,” Staly said in the statement.