PORT ORANGE, Fla. (WSVN) — A 24-year-old man from Broward County was arrested hundreds of miles away from home after, deputies said, he took them on a wild and dangerous pursuit that came to a crashing end.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Wednesday about a man driving at a high rate of speed on the highway in Port Orange.
Deputies immediately spotted the motorist and used their speed detector to see how fast he was going.
“Ninety-five miles an hour,” said a deputy.
They realized they needed to slow the driver down and fast.
“Stop it, stop it, stop it,” said a deputy.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood was nearby when he decided to take charge of the operation.
“You just can’t allow the guy to just keep on driving all over God’s green earth, knowing a pedestrian could be hit and keep on somebody else,” said Chitwood.
The sheriff’s office had recently changed their policy earlier this year to allow PIT maneuvers and held a training for it a few weeks ago. Chitwood said he was the first one to put his training to the test.
The suspect, identified as Christian Ottinot, was seen driving recklessly, swerving through different lanes and nearly hitting several vehicles on the road.
Soon enough, Chitwood came from behind and conducted the PIT maneuver against Ottinot.
“I’m old-fashioned, you know? The badge says ‘sheriff’s office,’ right? It doesn’t say you’re the sheriff, it says you’re a law enforcement officer,” he said.
Body camera footage captured deputies opening the door and removing Ottinot from the car and onto the grass with his hands behind his back.
Ottinot, a Broward County native, has been making a habit of getting arrested around this time of year, deputies said.
About three years ago, he was arrested in Volusia County and pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and giving officers a false name. During that arrest, he also had a warrant out of Miami for missing a court date.
Officials said he also violated probation in his Volusia County case by getting arrested in Palm Beach County during another high-speed chase.
“This guy doesn’t need to be out on the road. This is how people get killed,” said Chitwood.
For Wednesday’s arrest, Ottinot faces several charges including fleeing and alluding, reckless driving and Florida’s new “Super Speeder” law, which is a felony that can lead to jail time if a driver is caught going 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit on a highway.
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