Man arrested for slapping officer, interfering with firefighters responding to vehicle fire

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Garry Michael Cooper Jr., 32, was arrested yesterday after allegedly slapping a police officer and interfering with firefighters responding to a vehicle fire in the parking lot of the Hunters Crossing shopping center.

At about 4:55 p.m. on February 22, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the Hunters Crossing shopping center (5200 NW 43rd Street) to assist Gainesville Fire Rescue with a vehicle fire, and the officer reported that when he arrived, Cooper was actively interfering with the firefighters, who were still working on containing and extinguishing the vehicle fire.

The officer reported that firefighters told Cooper to step back, but Cooper said he was a “trained EMT” and kept trying to get into the vehicle. The firefighters told the officer that Cooper was not the owner of the vehicle and had no reason to get in it; the officer reported that this was confirmed by the owner of the vehicle, who said he did not know Cooper.

The officer said he told Cooper to leave the area and stop interfering with the firefighters, but Cooper continued his actions, told the officer not to touch him, and slapped the officer’s arm. Cooper allegedly tried to run around the officer to get back to the vehicle fire, and at that point, the officer attempted to place him under arrest. Cooper allegedly resisted attempts to restrain him by pushing the officer away, and the officer and firefighters eventually took him to the ground.

While on the ground, Cooper continued to physically resist being placed in handcuffs until the officer deployed his taser.

Cooper has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and interfering with firefighters. He has no criminal convictions, and Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $30,000 but ordered that bail can be waived if he is accepted to Mental Health Court.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.