POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Friday afternoon patrol turned into a chaotic roadside confrontation in Mulberry after a driver allegedly launched into a bilingual, profanity-laced tirade against a Polk County Sheriff’s deputy.
The incident began around 3 p.m. on April 3, near the intersection of Sabal Palm Drive and Pine Street. A deputy pulled over a blue Honda for a minor traffic infraction, but the standard procedure quickly devolved when the officer approached the window. According to officials, the driver immediately began screaming at the deputy, alternating between English and Spanish.
When the deputy asked for a driver’s license, the man reportedly shouted back, “I don’t have one for you.”
The situation intensified as the driver continued to yell a variety of curse words while making frequent, erratic movements inside the vehicle.
Concerned by the lack of cooperation and the constant shifting inside the car, the deputy ordered the man to step out of the Honda multiple times. Each command was ignored.
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The confrontation reached a breaking point as the deputy moved to physically remove the driver from the seat.
“I’m not getting out,” the man yelled while being pulled from the vehicle. Once he was secured and placed in restraints, authorities noted that the man’s demeanor shifted significantly, and he became more cooperative with the deputy.
Police identified the driver as 41-year-old Gulmaro Morales-Velasquez. A records check quickly explained the man’s initial hostility regarding his credentials: his driver’s license had been suspended since 2010.
Morales-Velasquez was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center. He faces charges of driving with an expired license and resisting an officer without violence.
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