A man wandering along the shoulder of Interstate 4 punched a Florida Highway Patrol officer in the face, while dashcam video captured the action.
Just before 10 a.m., a state trooper was dispatched. The station reported on Friday that a man dressed in a Mickey Mouse shirt and carrying a duffle bag was walking on the left shoulder of the freeway just west of exit 5 in Tampa.
The trooper approached the individual, Alexander Hernandez Delgado, and inquired as to why he was walking down the freeway.
According to the station, Delgado informed the trooper that he is an artist and that his mother had just kicked him out of the house. The trooper allegedly sought to search Delgado and put him in the back of his cruiser after checking his name via a database.
Delgado then hit the officer in the face, which was captured on dashcam video.
The officer was also seen tackling Delgado near the median in the footage, but investigators said Delgado continued to struggle, according to the station.
But soon after, a truck driver pulled over, hurried toward the struggle, and assisted the trooper in subduing Delgado so he could be handcuffed.
Other motorists also came to a halt and rushed to the scene to assist the trooper.
The paramedics examined the trooper and Delgado. The trooper had a bloody nose but was otherwise unharmed, according to the station, with Delgado suffering from a minor cut on his chin.
On allegations of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, Delgado was arrested and put into the Hillsborough County Jail.
Randy Sutton, the founder of Wounded Blue, an organization that assists law enforcement officers who are injured while on duty, praised the motorists who came to the trooper’s aid.
