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Former officer leads police on chase through three counties

Published  November 27, 2015 6:34pm EST
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

ST. JOHN'S COUNTY, Fla - A former officer is behind bars after leading police and sheriff’s deputies on a chase that spanned three counties.  
According to the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office the pursuit started in Volusia County after Daniel Ruddell, 45, of Palm Coast allegedly robbed the convenient store at the Circle K gas station at the intersection of LPGA Blvd. and Clyde Morris Blvd.
The sheriff’s office reports that Ruddell threatened the store clerk with a bottle of liquid he claimed was toxic and demanded money, then took off in a black Chevy Silverado.
Officers from the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Officer attempted to stop the vehicle, but Ruddell allegedly took off.
Officers pursued him from Volusia County into Flagler County, where Flagler County deputies tried unsuccessfully to use stop sticks in two different locations.  
The chase continued into St. John’s County where multiple attempts were made to stop the black truck.  
At one point, officials say Ruddell allegedly ran into a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit.  Neither the deputy nor the K9 were injured.
A P.I.T. maneuver eventually ended the chase, but not before Ruddell allegedly tried to run over a deputy on a motorcycle, prompting officers from Flagler and St. John’s County to fire at him.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jim Troiano told FOX 35 Ruddell worked for the agency from September of 2006 until April 2014, when he retired from the agency.
Prior to that Ruddell worked for the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Troiano said.
“It is shocking,” Troiano said.  
“You would hope that people who were in law enforcement for as long as he was…wouldn’t resort to that kind of activity,” he continued.
According to Troiano, Ruddell was arrested in Daytona Beach on November 18 and charged with possession of marijuana and resisting an officer without violence.  
On November 20, Flagler County deputies executed a court order to take Ruddell into custody for evaluation, Troiano said.  
On Friday Ruddell was being held in the St. John’s County Jail on $90,000 bond.  He was charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude with property damage.  More charges are likely.
Troiano said the Flagler Count Sheriff’s Office will conduct an internal investigation due to the fact that a deputy fired a weapon during the pursuit.