Niamh Spence
Footage from a US police body cam shows the shocking moment a man uses his baby as a human shield to try and prevent his arrest.
The footage comes from officers from Flagler County Police after a standoff ensured between Brandon Matthew Douglas Leohner and officers attempting his arrest.
The 27-year-old can be seen holding his infant child to his chest whilst at a drive-thru fast food restaurant. Officers pursued Leohner after he allegedly abducted his own baby and drove through the streets in Florida's Palm Coast recklessly with the child on his lap.
Police were called around 6pm on 27 September after receiving calls concerning a possible abduction of a one-year-old. Shortly after, local police located a driver driving recklessly and speeding into oncoming traffic.
Whilst officers attempted to stop the driver, he sped off with the cops in pursuit. Police officers were then able to confront the man at a McDonald's carpark, where Leohner exited his vehicle clutching the infant to him.
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Body cam footage shows an agitated Leohner standing by the drive-thru window clutching the child whilst officers repeatedly call for him to put the baby down.
Still refusing to place the child away from him, footage then shows Leohner holding the baby against his chest and head to protect himself.
As one officer successfully sets off his taser hitting Leohner, other officers rush in to safely take the child away as the infant calls out "Dada".
The footage ends with Leohner attempting to escape before being pinned down to the ground by officers using their K-9 to subdue him.
Flagler County Police said in a statement: "Here is a case of a domestic situation turning violent, putting a one-year-old child and innocent drivers in danger.
“Deputies were confronted with a very chaotic situation and a very combative individual that was putting his child at risk by using the child as a shield.
"Our deputies did everything they could to quickly rescue this child safely from a madman and apprehend the suspect.
"Fortunately, the child was not hurt and was quickly reunited with his mother."
Elsewhere in the US, cops have shot and killed a teenage boy after mistaking his Airsoft rifle for a real gun.
The shocking dashcam footage released by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) shows two of its officers responding to a 911 call on 17 September.
The footage continues showing 19-year-old Luis Herrera, who can be heard telling the responder that his dad had been drinking and was beating his mum.
However, when the police approached the property in a south-east neighbourhood of the city, the teen came out wielding what appeared to be a huge assault rifle.
Footage then shows the two officers telling the suspect to put the gun down before they dart to the side of the house.
Yet when Herrera doesn't comply, one of the cops fires his gun numerous times while shouting: "Let go of the gun."
As Herrera lays on the floor, a back and forth ensues as the teen's parents explain that it's their son and state 'it's a toy' in reference to the supposed firearm.
Paramedics later attended the scene but pronounced the 19-year-old boy dead. Authorities later confirmed the gun was an Airsoft rifle and also that there was no evidence of domestic violence between the mother and father as was suggested to the dispatcher.
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