OCALA, Fla. – A man who could’ve been spending the holidays in a hospital, or even at home, is being held in jail without bond after run-ins with two police officers. He started with the first cop’s sympathy, despite how they met.
That officer in Florida reported seeing Travis Joseph Cushing’s blue Jeep running a red light on the evening of Dec. 12.
“The vehicle ran past the stop bar and came to a stop in the middle” of an intersection, the arrest report said. “Prior to initiating my traffic stop, it appeared the driver was attempting to enter oncoming traffic and intentionally crash.
“I activated my emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop,” the officer’s story continued, “which caused the oncoming traffic to yield to the blue jeep. Once I got behind the jeep, it came to a stop.
“I then made contact with the driver, who I immediately observed to be upset. The driver identified himself by his Florida driver’s license as Travis Cushing. I advised Cushing of the reason for the stop and asked him what was going on. Cushing stated that he was very upset, and immediately began crying.
“I then requested Cushing to exit his vehicle so I could speak with him further about what was bothering him. Through our conversation, Cushing stated that his girlfriend broke up with him a month ago, and today is his birthday, and she won’t even talk to him.
“Cushing further stated that he needs help and wanted me to kill him. Cushing made other comments insinuating that he would harm himself due to being upset.
“I then advised Cushing that I was going to help him, and take him to speak with someone. Cushing was then placed under a Baker Act and was being transported to the mental health facility for evaluation. While en route to the mental health facility, Cushing was talking normally to me, and understood he needed help.”
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But that didn’t last.
“Approximately five miles away from the original traffic stop,” the officer continued, “Cushing began screaming at me and banging on the doors of my patrol car. After multiple attempts of trying to calm Cushing down, he continued to escalate and began punching and kicking the partition of my vehicle. Cushing was then placed in a restraint system for the remainder of the trip to the mental health facility.”
The situation would further deteriorate, and force a change of plans.
“Upon arrival to the mental health facility,” the arrest report said, “I opened the door to remove Cushing from the back seat of my vehicle, and he spit right at me, striking me on my chest with his saliva, and began screaming at me again.
“I then placed Cushing under arrest for battery on a law enforcement officer and transported him to the Marion County Jail. Once at the Marion County Jail, a spit mask was placed on Cushing, and he was removed from the back of my vehicle by myself and [another officer], and brought into the sally port.
”Once in the sally port, [the other officer] and I began to remove the restraint system. While [the other officer] was removing the front restraints, Cushing spot in his face through the spit mask, striking [the officer] on his glasses and closed mouth.”
Cushing, who turned 26 that day, was charged with two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, and he has been held without bail ever since.
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