A shoplifting suspect in central Florida allegedly engaged the police in a shootout and a lengthy standoff Wednesday, during which he allegedly set his truck and house on fire and asked for a presidential pardon, police said.
Dempsey Hadley, suspected of stealing cigarettes at about 4:30 am from a Wawa store in Deltona, drove at a Volusia County police officer and fled from another during an attempted traffic stop, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He then reportedly led the police in a low-speed chase homeward as stop sticks deflated his tires.
A police negotiator repeatedly called for him to cooperate, as others approached his truck, the video appeared to show.
A burst of gunfire appeared to erupt as officers reached the truck, and an officer who was apparently hit groaned, per the video.
At daybreak, the police were still around Hadley’s residence.
“Dempsey, your kids are worried about you right now,” the negotiator called.
The officers had used their heavy machinery to push Hadley’s truck into his garage, Sheriff Michael Chitwood said at a press conference. Hadley allegedly set fire to his garage and entered his house. (RELATED: Louisiana Man Charged With Arson That Killed His Three Kids)
Smoke rose from within the house. Hadley allegedly threatened to fight the police and not surrender, while also asking them to help him secure a pardon from President Joe Biden, Sheriff Chitwood added.
Officers approached a back porch Hadley was standing on. Hadley apparently walked back into the burning interior. Officers knocked the joists off the porch, and as Hadley walked back out onto the porch, it crumbled and he crashed to the ground and was taken into custody, the video showed.
A sergeant escaped a potentially fatal head injury in the shootout due to a protective shield, while the other officer who was shot sustained a bullet graze wound on his face, Sheriff Chitwood said. Another officer’s face was cut with glass fragments, he added.
“The first thing [Hadley] says to me [after his arrest] is, ‘Call the President, he’s going to pardon me for this,'” Sheriff Chitwood said.