An officer was forced to fire their weapon after a vehicle struck their foot during a street takeover in Margate on Sunday, police said.
According to Margate Police, officers arrived at the 2900 block of Banks Road after receiving reports of a street takeover.
At the scene, an officer’s foot was struck by a vehicle, and the officer discharged his weapon, police said.
It’s unclear if the vehicle or the people inside were struck.
The officer was taken to North Broward Hospital for treatment and is expected to be OK.
The vehicle remains on the loose.
“I heard noise. I heard a helicopter flying over my house,” said Rita Barons, a neighbor.
Barons said she didn’t hear the shots, but told NBC6 that she knew something was wrong when she heard cars and loud noises coming from near her backyard.
“I could see the bright lights,” she said. “I heard the zooming up and down banks road with cars.”
In 2024, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that increased the penalties for drag racing, street takeovers, stunt driving and other dangerous activities and formally defined the term “coordinated street takeover.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is expected to take over the investigation, which is standard whenever there is a police-involved shooting.
