MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - One day after a man sent police on a high-speed chase through Miami Gardens, he spoke to 7News to explain his reasoning for fleeing the officers.
Twenty-four-year-old Antonio Jackson bonded out of jail, Tuesday morning, but just one day earlier, he put his life and the lives of others on the line.
According to Miami Gardens Police, police officers were sent to Jackson’s location after he allegedly waved a firearm in the air while on a Metro bus.
Once officers were called to the scene, Jackson fled the scene in a rented white, 2016 Chrysler sedan.
He said what 7 skyforce HD didn’t capture was the initial stop he fled from.
“The way they jumped out,” he said. “It was not no regular traffic stop. When they drawed their guns, I was like, ‘Hell no.’ I pulled off.”
Miami-Dade police joined Miami Gardens Police in the pursuit while Jackson was on the phone with his mother.
“I was afraid for his life,” said his mother Angela Jackson. “Yes, I was.”
Jackson said he was trying to get home, where he knew witnesses would be waiting.
“I had to make it somewhere safe where everybody could see me go down and go into custody.”
“I don’t condone him running from law enforcement,” said his mother, “but I also want my son alive.”
From there he sent police on a 20-minute-long chase, which finally ended when he crashed into a Miami Gardens Police cruiser.
Once he crashed, a gunshot was fired. Miami Gardens police confirmed that one of their officers fired a weapon into the suspect’s vehicle once he crashed into the Miami Gardens Police vehicle, at the corner of Miami Gardens Drive and Fifth Court.
The bullet was shot through the front windshield of the SUV, missing Jackson who was inside the white, 2016 Chrysler rental. “And I just jumped out of the car and laid down,” said Jackson, “face down.”
While police investigate the shooting, Jackson and his family unanimously agree that he fled the scene because he was terrified of the police.
Jackson told 7News that he crashed into the car by accident because he was scared once he saw the officer’s rifle pointed at him.
“Right here, where I crashed into the officer car, at that moment, when I was turning the corner like to try to make it to my block, when I see the officer, he had his gun pointed at me,” said Jackson. “That’s what made me duck and floor into the officer cruiser. And then the shot when off, and that’s when I definitely just got to the floor.”
According to Jackson’s parents, Jackson was afraid police would shoot him if he stopped the vehicle. Therefore, in order to get him to stop, his family tried to convince him to stop at a gas station where there would be witnesses present if anything were to happen. “He was scared that a police might either shoot at him or beat him,” said Jackson’s father, Alfonso Rivera, “so our advice was to get to a gas station and stop where everybody could see.”
Jackson said he did not have a gun and had no reason to run. He was just scared.
“If they wouldn’t have drawn their guns, I would have politely stayed on the scene and none of that would have took place,” Jackson said.
However, he did admit to driving with a suspended license.
Jackson was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving with damage to person or property and driving with a suspended license.
He was released on $15,000 bond, Monday.
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