Newly released video captured the moment the winner of a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot got tackled and tased by Florida police after kicking a deputy in the head.
Bodycam footage from the April 29 brawl caught James Farthing, 50, booting a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy in the head when police arrived at the TradeWinds Resort, in St. Pete Beach, after he allegedly punched a hotel guest in the face, WFLA reported.
The deputy was holding another person to the ground when Farthing ran up and kicked him, with resort security rushing in to pin the suspect against the wall and help the deputy.
“I just got kicked,” the dumbfounded deputy could be heard radioing as the security guards yelled at Farthing to stand down.
The officer quickly picked up his taser from the ground and confronted Farthing, ordering him to put his hands up.
“Put your hands behind your back right f—king now. Put your hands behind your back and get the f—king wall,” the deputy repeated, shoving Farthing to the wall.
The suspect quickly slipped behind a column and tried to run away, with the deputy firing his taser as another officer tackled Farthing to the ground.
“I’m sorry man, please,” Farthing could be heard saying as the officers handcuffed him.
“Save your f—king sorries for later,” the deputy fired back.
The law enforcement officer had “swelling and redness” on the right side of his face under his eye, according to the affidavit first reported on by the Smoking Gun.
Farthing hit Kentucky’s largest lottery jackpot just day before the encounter, opting to split the winnings with his mother as an early Mother’s Day gift.
Following his arrest at the TradeWinds Resort, it was revealed that Farthing was a career criminal who had has racked up convictions across nine counties in Kentucky for a litany of offenses — including choking a girlfriend, bribing officers while in prison and selling cocaine to an undercover cop, according to the Smoking Gun.
Along with Farthing, police also arrested his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, 42, for alleged involvement in the brawl.
Farthing was charged with resisting an officer without violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, battery, and parole violation.
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