Moment 6'5" ex-con sprints from NYPD officers despite being tasered as they attempt to arrest him for his role in 'water-bucket attacks on cops'
Shocking video shows the moment NYPD cops surround and try to arrest the ex-convict wanted for a water-bucket attack on police, but he slips through their fingers and sprints down the block before he's finally handcuffed.
NYPD police tried to arrest Keith Ford, who is on parole for an attempted robbery conviction, on Tuesday in the Bronx in connection to an attack where he allegedly doused cops with buckets of water last month.
But the 28-year-old didn't follow commands when he was surrounded by three officers of NYPD’s Bronx Warrant Squad. He shouted 'What is this for?' then bolted away, according to the New York Post.
Ford, who is 6ft 5 and 255lbs, was eventually cornered, arrested, and charged with two counts of criminal mischief, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct for throwing buckets of water on two uniformed police officers on July 21.
In the two-minute clip three police officers surround Ford and try to place his hands in cuffs.
He appears to be shocked by the officers and angrily shouts: 'What is this for? Let me get my stuff!'
The three officers struggle to control him and one throws him to the ground in an effort to subdue him.
Ford gets back up and is swarmed by the officers who order him to put his hands behind his back.
He starts to put his hands behind his back, appearing compliant, but when one officer steps forward to cuff him, he takes off running.
The person filming the interaction cheers him on as he makes his way down the street.
As he runs, an officer draws a Taser and hits Ford. Ford then yanks the barb from his clothes and continues to round down the block.
After he ran around the corner, cops were able to surround him, place him against a wall, and arrest him.
He was booked into jail for allegedly being involved in a July 21 water-bucket throwing incident on the corner of Boston Road and East 173rd Street that was caught on video.
The water-bucket throwing incident was one of many where New Yorkers doused uniformed cops with water during lat month's heat wave, leading to public outcry and criticism from Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Trump.
In that clip he and a group of people are seen taunting two uniformed female cops on street corner then cross it armed with water guns and buckets filled with water to drench the two cops.
The clip doesn't show any faces but shows the group targeting the officers and howling with laughter.
Ford, who also has a prior robbery conviction, was granted $1 bail at his arraignment but he was held for allegedly violating terms of his parole, according to jail records. He’s is scheduled to return to court on September 12.
The video of his brazen arrest where he tried to evade police has sparked outrage among NYPD officials.
The head of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association said the Thursday incident showed 'how emboldened criminals have become, thanks to the rhetoric of our phony politicians.'
'It’s the clear example of how indecision from being constantly criticized and second-guessed all the time plays out on the street. It’s a miracle that these detectives were not injured,' DEA President Michael Palladino said.
'This is gonna continue to happen. Everyone thinks they’re gonna be a reality TV star — they’re gonna film the incident, they’re gonna hope that the cops do their job,' NYPD Sgt. Joseph Imperatrice, the founder of the non-profit Blue Lives Matter NYC, said on the video.
'They’re going to do everything in their power now to not only resist arrest but give officers a hard time – and you can see it in that video.'
