Suspect drowns in a pond when trying to flee from Gainesville police from a traffic stop
By: The Gainesville Police Department on Tuesday released an officer's unedited bodycam footage following the drowning of a suspect who fled a traffic stop on foot the morning of Nov. 16
At about 12:05 a.m., an officer observed what they determined to be a stolen scooter being driven in the area of Northeast 25th Street and Northeast Sixth Street.
When the officer activated her emergency lights, the suspect — later identified as Tyreick Lewis — lost control of the scooter and ran toward a wooded area in the 2400 block of Northeast Sixth Street.
Officers eventually found Lewis struggling to stay afloat in a pond about 50 feet from shore. Officers were eventually able to reach Lewis, and performed life-saving measures until EMS arrived. He was eventually transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
GPD released the bodycam footage to the public Tuesday after meeting with Lewis' mother and allowing her to view the footage and answer any questions she may have had.
“We believe that providing the public with access to the unfiltered account of events is crucial in fostering trust and understanding within the community," GPD's news release with the video said.
The Sun has reviewed the video but has decided not to publish it due to its graphic nature.
The roughly 32-minute video begins with a K-9 officer activating her patrol lights before Lewis eventually wrecks and runs into the woods.
The officer exits her vehicle, pull her service weapon and orders Lewis, whom she can't see, to "Show me your hands right now, you're going to get dog bit." She moves into the woods before coming to a chain-link fence, where she continues to call out commands.
Minutes later, another officer arrives at the scene and enters the woods in search of Lewis. The initial officer soon follows.
The officers then discover Lewis struggling to stay afloat in a pond, his gasps for air clearly audible in the video.
"Swim, I'm not coming in there, bro," one officer says.
Less than a minute after Lewis is found in the water, an officer is told to return to their vehicle and retrieve a rope while another enters the water. The officer who entered the water, however, is forced to retreat due to the thick vegetation in the water and muck on the bottom of the pond.
"It's like sludge," he later told a fellow officer.
The officer wearing the bodycam then realizes Lewis is starting to go under the water and radios to have EMS on standby.
Once the officer with the rope returns, the officer who initially entered the water immediately does so again and attempts to throw Lewis the rope. Unsuccessful, the officer pushes further out toward Lewis, and two others get in the water to assist with holding the rope and to help pull the officer and Lewis to shore.
It's unclear how long Lewis was in the water before officers found him, but the video shows Lewis in the water for just short of 4 minutes.
Officers begin chest compressions immediately and, just over a minute later, say Lewis has a pulse. The officers, however, begin chest compressions again about a minute later before again getting a "weak pulse."
Officers carry Lewis out of the woods about 4 minutes after he was pulled from the water. They again begin chest compressions next to their patrol car before EMS arrives and takes over.
The officer wearing the body camera is later audibly upset, with another officer telling her that she did nothing wrong.
"I'm not worried about what I did, I’m worried about what I couldn’t do," she said.