A Titusville doctor who intentionally hurt himself while in custody in the back of a patrol car is facing a battery charge after he spit blood onto a trooper’s face, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
Zachary Charles Bird was arrested early Sunday morning and appears with a bandage on his head in his Orange County mug shot.
Florida Highway Patrol said Bird became enraged after he was pulled over for almost hitting one of their vehicles traveling northbound on State Road 417.
“He was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI, placed in the back of the trooper's Dodge Charger and that's when everything went bad,” FHP Sgt. Kim Montes was quoted as saying.
Bird, who failed the sobriety test, began to smash his head against the patrol car and kicked and screamed to get out of the vehicle, WESH 2 reported. When an officer tried to remove him from the car, Bird spit blood onto the trooper’s face, FHP said.
Bird, who was unable to be reached for comment by WESH 2, was found with over $54,000 in cash, which he said was being stolen by officers. FHP also found prescription bottles, various pills, a vial of clear liquid, two pistols and 50 rounds of ammunition, according to an arrest affidavit.
Natalie Sellers, a spokeswoman for Parrish Medical Center where Bird works, said his medical privileges have been revoked at the hospital.
