Bodycam video captures showdown, police pursuit of ‘habitual theft offender’ who fled traffic stop
By Sheldon Fox, Rubén Rosario
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MIAMI BEACH, Florida (WSVN) — Police body camera video captured a street showdown between officers and a wanted man who detectives said fled a traffic stop off Lincoln Road Mall.
The dramatic footage, exclusively obtained by 7News, shows the all-out blitz to catch Jeffrey Donald near Miami Beach City Hall back on Oct. 2.
“Turn around or you’re gonna get bit!” a K-9 officer is heard yelling at the suspect.
Investigators said Donald ran from a traffic stop but briefly stopped while at gunpoint, as seen through a cruiser’s windshield.
But despite the commands and barking K-9s, he bolted for the parking garage adjacent to Lincoln Road.
“Go, George, go, go!” an officer is heard saying on the bodycam video.
“He’s inside the garage,” said another officer.
“We’re going to go get him,” said the first officer.
A police report states Donald, whom they described as “a habitual theft offender,” was on an inmate release program when he kept targeting the Walgreens on Fifth Street and Jefferson Avenue with thefts and armed robberies.
One time, detectives said, Donald threatened a clerk with a tequila bottle.
The police report states, “The victim was in such fear of the defendant that he was shaking.”
Weeks after that crime, police said, officers with Miami Beach Police’s Strategic Enforcement Team recognized Donald in a car near the garage and City Hall. Moments later, he ran.
“Hold your points. Do not rush in!” an officer is heard saying in bodycam video. “We know he’s inside the building. Start suiting up.”
Officers then learned of who they were after.
“[He’s wearing] like an aqua blue shirt,” an officer is heard saying in bodycam video.
Donald was apprehended shortly after.
A witness was seen cheering officers in as they handcuffed the suspect.
“Great job!” said the witness.
Donald remains locked up at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He faces a list of charges, including armed robbery and assault upon a person 65 or older. His trial is pending.
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