Cellphone and surveillance video capture chaotic confrontation between pickup truck driver and MDPD officers
Nov 21, 2024
Cellphone and surveillance video give a new view of the chaotic parking lot confrontation between a pickup truck driver and police officers that followed a pursuit through parts of Miami-Dade County.
The startling footage captured the moment the rogue motorist rammed into parked cars in the area of Southwest 41st Street and 72nd Avenue on Wednesday.
The on-the-run suspect, later identified as Kevin Paul Prater, had nowhere to go as armed and determined Miami-Dade Police officers closed in on him.
“Get out of the car! Get out of the car!” an armed officer screamed at the suspect.
“Something bizarre and crazy,” said witness Alex Fernandez.
The real criminal demolition derby played out on witness cellphone video and security footage. The parking lot looked like a junkyard once Prater was taken into custody.
MDPD Detective Andre Martin said the showdown came after a high-speed pursuit.
“[The suspect] fled from officers at a high rate of speed,” he said.
And detectives said Prater did it with his father in the passenger seat. The father was seen on cellphone video attempting to get out of the white truck before his son sudenly steps on the gas.
“With no regard for anyone’s safety, including that of his own father,” said Martin. “He was an innocent bystander who was taken along for this ride.”
It was a rough ride that ended with a dinged-up suspect who made a pit stop at the hospital before ending up parked in jail.
Prater was wanted for aggravated stalking, extortion and making written threats to kill a law enforcement officer. Following Wednesday’s confrontation, he now faces additional charges, including reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest. Once he recovers, he will make his first appearance in bond court.