VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – An Altamonte Springs police officer was arrested earlier this month following a traffic stop in Volusia County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Zachary Morrissey, 28, was arrested on Sept. 18. Since then, Morrissey was relieved of duty pending an internal affairs investigation and judicial proceedings, police said.
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An arrest affidavit states Volusia deputies performed a traffic stop along Fort Smith Boulevard near South Palomar Drive.
During the stop, another car was seen speeding nearby, slamming on its brakes as it approached the deputies and nearly crashing into a patrol car, the affidavit shows.
Both deputies moved out of the way, and the car redirected itself “into the proper lane of travel” as it slowed down, though deputies tried to pull the car over due to the “erratic and careless driving behavior,” investigators explained.
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Deputies tried to make contact with the driver, Morrissey, who instead took off, driving north along Fort Smith Boulevard, according to the sheriff’s office.
Following a search for the vehicle, deputies were eventually able to find Morrissey at the intersection of Newmark Drive and Monticeto Avenue, and he was taken into custody shortly afterward, the affidavit shows.
The Altamonte Springs Police Department later confirmed Morrissey was an officer, and he had been off-duty at the time of the incident.
Morrissey faces charges of failing to obey law enforcement orders to stop and careless driving.
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