What began as a routine traffic stop quickly escalated into a nightmarish scene when a suspect allegedly fled the scene with one police officer trapped inside his car and another being dragged alongside the speeding vehicle.
This tumultuous event took place in Eustis, Florida, during the weekend and has left the community in shock.
According to the Eustis Police Department, the trouble began in the early hours of Saturday morning. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Shakoi Donovan, allegedly drove away with one officer embroiled in the driver’s area of his car, while also dragging a second officer for about 10 to 15 feet along the road.
Body camera footage worn by the officers highlights the tense moments when Shakoi Donovan was engaged in conversation during the traffic stop, which tragically turned violent. (Eustis Police Department)
Footage from another officer’s bodycam captures a harrowing image of one officer lying on the ground, highlighting the severity of the situation.
The Eustis Police Department in Eustis, Florida says the suspect drove off from the traffic stop and dragged an officer in the process. The officer is seen on the ground. (Eustis Police Department)
It all started when the officers pulled Donovan over on suspicion he was driving under the influence. A police report says officers spotted a silver Infiniti weaving over a yellow line on a local street.
Two officers attempted to physically remove Donovan from his vehicle after repeated requests for him to get out of the car. Seconds later, Donovan sped off with the officers still in his car. (Eustis Police Department)
Two officers stopped Donovan and confronted him, asking him to step out of the car.
When he allegedly did not comply with the officers’ repeated requests to get out, they opened his car door and reached toward the suspect in an attempt to physically remove him while the vehicle was running.
Shakoi Donovan, 28, is sitting in jail facing a list of charges related to the incident. (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)
It was right at this moment that the suspect is seen on officer-worn bodycamera video speeding away with one officer inside his car.
One officer is heard yelling, “He’s taking off Eustis 77 is in the car!”
An officer was pinned between Donovan and the steering while trapping her inside his vehicle during the incident, police say. (Eustis Police Department)
The report said she was pinned between Donovan and the steering wheel.
The second officer was dragged by the vehicle “sending him tumbling across the S. Eustis Street asphalt, barrel rolling multiple times,” the police report said.
His “roll” was captured on camera. He was treated for injuries.
The full police report is available here:
Court records indicate this is not Donovan’s first run-in with the law. He was previously arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in May and was also arrested on burglary and battery charges in 2022, among other arrests within Lake County, Florida.
Donovan is facing a list of charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting with violence, among others.
He was still in jail as of Friday and is due in court on Aug. 24.