PALATKA, Fla. (WSVN) — Newly released body camera video shows the moment a deputy became a victim of a pipe bomb explosion during a routine traffic stop near Gainesville.
Back on April 5, a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled over a pickup truck after the license plate didn’t match the vehicle.
Bodycam video released this week shows the deputy asking the driver, 60-year-old Charles Legault, if he could search the truck after smelling marijuana in the truck. Legault consented.
Within seconds, the deputy found what he believed to be drugs and drug paraphernalia.
“What are these dope baggies in this cigarette pouch for? Do you use cocaine as well?” asked the deputy.
“No, no, no. I had six heart attacks,” said Legault.
“OK, but what does that have to do with the three baggies with the white substance in the cigarette pouch there?” asked the deputy.
“Son’t know,” said Legault.
At this moment, Legault was asked to get out of the truck, and the deputy asked him to stand at the front of the truck while the deputy continued his search.
First, the deputy found a handgun in the seat, then more drug paraphernalia.
“What kind of pipe is this?” asked the deputy.
“Not a clue. It hasn’t been in the truck,” said Legault.
“That’s a methamphetamine pipe, sir,” said the deputy.
Eight minutes and 45 seconds after the traffic stop, a chemical pipe bomb exploded in the deputy’s face as he searched for more drugs in the vehicle.
“Whoa! What the [expletive]!” said the deputy as he reacted to the explosion.
Video from the deputy’s bodycam shows the explosion in slow motion.
Although the deputy struggled to breathe, he managed to call for backup and place Legault in handcuffs.
Moments later, it became obvious that the chemicals that exploded in the deputy’s face were making it even harder for him to breathe.
“It’s like it’s in my [expletive] lungs or something,” said the deputy as he coughed heavily.
The deputy’s uniform could be seen covered in a white chemical powder as he took off his body armor.
The powder was believed to be chlorine.
The deputy was later taken to the hospital to be treated for respiratory injuries from the chemical explosion. He underwent extensive testing and has since made a full recovery.
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