Taxi driver charged with attempted murder of Miami police officer
MIAMI - A taxi driver is facing attempted murder charges after investigators say he fired an assault rifle at police officers during a shootout in Miami.
North Miami police say 29-year-old Frantzy Armand is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer in Tuesday's shootout. Armand was shot and wounded by police following a car chase and remains hospitalized.
Cell phone video taken by a bystander and obtained by CBS Miami shows authorities taking Armand into custody.
Police say Armand was involved in a disturbance at a Miami taxi company and then opened fire on an officer who responded. That officer was not injured, but authorities say Armand stole his police cruiser and sped away.
Eventually he stopped in a North Miami neighborhood and exchanged shots with officers after they told him to drop the gun. Armand was struck by several bullets but survived. No police officers were wounded.
CBS Miami reports authorities say a Good Samaritan shielded one of the police officers involved in the shootout and drove him to safety.
"That Good Samaritan is a hero," said Javier Ortiz, President of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. "No doubt he is a hero. He helped this officer through thick and thin in a war zone."