On January 4, just before midnight, Deputy Christopher Murphy was conducting patrols in the W-Section of Palm Coast when he observed a male, later identified as Michael McDermott, 38, on the sidewalk alongside Pine Lakes Parkway standing next to a bicycle on the ground. Deputy Murphy attempted contact with McDermott, but McDermott picked up the bike and began to ride away.
Deputy Murphy activated his emergency lights and attempted a traffic stop on McDermott. McDermott appeared to comply, slowing down enough for Deputy Murphy to stop and exit his car, only to then pedal quickly way and, turning onto Westminster Drive.
Deputy Murphy got back into his patrol vehicle and attempted to catch up with McDermott. As Deputy Murphy turned onto Westminster Drive, he observed McDermott pulling a firearm out of his pants. Dep. Murphy, fearing that McDermott would engage him with the firearm, struck McDermott with his vehicle, ejecting him from the bicycle and causing him to drop the firearm.
Dep. Murphy then secured McDermott without further incident with the assistance of Deputy Michael Anderson, who had arrived as backup within seconds of the incident.
A 9-millimeter Ruger firearm was recovered near McDermott, who was also wearing a holster for the weapon.
McDermott was arrested for Assault or Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Fleeing and Eluding, Resisting an Officer with Violence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He was transported to Advent Health Palm Coast Parkway due to a minor injury to his right ankle. After being treated and released and was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.
McDermott has an extensive arrest history in Flagler County since 2013 and at the time of this arrest had been released from the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on December 17, 2024 after served a 90-day sentence for Possession of Fentanyl.
Tide is turning says
GOOD JOB !
Jay Tomm says
My question would be WHY was the deputy harassing a guy on a bike??
Skibum says
Well, gee wiz, it is called “police work” for the uninitiated like you who somehow believe every time a law enforcement officer makes contact with someone as part of their job it is… OMG, “harassment!” It was near midnight, the deputy spotted a lone male subject with a bicycle out very late at night. During the day it would not raise red flags, but late at night, it could be completely innocent, or it could be, like this particular guy, a criminal with a gun who for whatever reason decides to flee. That is a huge clue to the deputy that the guy is up to no good, then when he pulls his gun out of his pants, you have someone trying to flee that is armed, and it was good intuition on the deputy’s part that he made the decision to stop and have a chat with him in the first place. That, sir, is anything but harassment!!!
Jay Tomm says
Actually your wrong. That is the definition of harassment. This guy was not doing anything wrong initially. Just some dude on a bike late at night. Could have been coming back or to a job. Not everyone can afford cars you know. I’m not saying this guy was a saint & absolutely was up to no good, but there is zero reason for a patrol car to ride up on this guy when he’s not observed doing anything but riding a bike at night.
Would any of us like that to happen to us? or a family member?
Apply the same logic to a traffic stop. If I’m not doing anything wrong do cops have the right to pull me over just because I’m driving a car at night? Or how about walking down the street?
Yes in this case it proved to be a good job, but in many more it’s been proved in court cases to be bad procedure. If it was me I’d formally launch a complaint & then hire a lawyer.
David L Gray says
Well, sir, you can choose to believe whatever you like, but the plain and simple fact is that the deputy had a reasonable cause due to the late hour to stop and have a chat with that man. There is nothing in what I read that indicated the deputy turned on his emergency lights to effect a traffic stop for any violation at that point, so it appears, to me at least, that what the deputy did was pro-active policing, nothing more. It was only when the man took the bike, got on it and tried to flee when contacted that the encounter escalated, and THEN the deputy had not only a reasonable suspicion, but complete legal justification to activate his patrol car’s emergency lights in an attempt to stop the man on the bike from fleeing. The man on the bike escalated that encounter even further by pulling out a weapon. So while you may fantasize that the man on the bike was Opie Taylor, doing nothing wrong while enjoying the cool night air in Mayberry and not exhibiting suspicious behavior that warranted a closer look by law enforcement, the facts completely betray your prejudice toward criminal activity, and I wonder why you are so quick to defend an armed individual who is trying to evade being stopped and questioned late at night? Did you not read the part about his lengthy criminal record, or does that additional information have no significance to you? Making citizen contacts, ESPECIALLY when there are suspicious circumstances like that particular late night encounter, is exactly what the deputy was trained to do and what good citizens expect our law enforcement officers to be doing late at night so the rest of us can sleep peacefully knowing our communities here in Flagler County are just a little bit safer because of their efforts. If you don’t happen to feel the same way, that’s ok, but I assure you that your jaded opinion of law enforcement is certainly in the minority.
Skibum says
The technique that the Flagler sheriff’s deputy used to stop and apprehend that felon with a gun is something I would categorize as “old school” policing. It was certainly effective and accomplished the goal of taking that man on his bicycle into custody without delay, and if the suspect was injured at all, besides the possibility of bruises or scratches from the branches of the bush he was flung into by the patrol car’s push bumper, I would say there was a higher possibility of injury to the man’s pride, if he had any. Using the push bumper to “push” a suspect who was attempting to flee off of their bicycle is something that was most likely much more common when I was working the streets many years ago, but as we can see from the video, it is still one of the techniques that can assist in an arrest, if done in a safe manner as seen in this arrest, so I give kudos to the deputy for a job well done! Another scumbag with a gun, and a long criminal history, according to law enforcement, off of our streets and occupying a jail cell at the Green Roof Inn.
Land of no turn signals says says
Great job deputy.That’s a man earning his salary.I see a little Chitwood in him.