A jail guard claims he was cut off in traffic so he followed the offending driver intending to make an arrest, but that driver was not the one who ended up behind bars, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
Eric Tyre Harris, 53, was charged with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the traffic stop he allegedly conducted.
According to the arrest report, Harris was driving east in the 5000 block of W. Commercial Boulevard in Tamarac about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 3. He said a blue 2018 Ford Fusion cut him off. At the next red light, Harris got out of his car, flashed a badge, and told the driver to pull over saying, “you think this [is] funny?”
The driver kept driving. The names of five people in the Ford were redacted from the report.
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Harris followed the Ford to a Walgreen’s, cornered it in the parking lot, pulled out a gun, and ordered three adults in the Ford to get face down on the ground. Two minor children were in the back seat, investigators said.
One of the women who was in the car called 911 and stayed on the phone with the operator until deputies arrived. Walgreen’s surveillance video corroborated what happened in the parking lot.
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During questioning, detectives said Harris admitted to showing his Florida Department of Corrections badge and pulling out his handgun because he thought he smelled an odor of marijuana and didn’t know if the driver was armed.
Harris was arrested. He was released from the Broward County Jail Oct. 4 on bonds totaling $30,000, records show.
