Man who bit Hillsborough County deputy dead, may have been victim of crime, HCSO says
TAMPA, Fla. - A man who bit a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy Thursday morning is now dead, according to officials. Investigators said they have reason to believe the man may have been a victim of a crime before his interactions with law enforcement.
Deputies said they were called out to Causeway Boulevard after reports of a man, who doctors said was under the influence of drugs, was seen running in and out of traffic on the busy roadway in Tampa.
According to the sheriff's office, the man suffered a medical episode after he was taken into custody and became unresponsive. Hillsborough County deputies who responded to the incident said they began life-saving measures, and the man was taken to Tampa General Hospital in critical condition.
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Before that, deputies said they gave the man several orders to get out of the road, but he took off running and led deputies on a chase. When deputies caught up with him and restrained him, they said he became violent and bit a deputy several times.
The deputy who was bitten suffered a non-life-threatening injury to her arm, HCSO said. Causeway Boulevard was shut down Thursday morning while deputies investigated the incident, officials confirmed.
HCSO said they are working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Medical Examiner's Office to determine the man's cause of death. They have not released the man's name.