A Sumter County sheriff’s deputy and a suspect he had tasered after a footchase, were both transported Sunday to The Villages Regional Hospital.
Matthew Legrand Branson, 42, of Oxford, had been spotted the night before, pulling into the parking lot at the Oakland Hills Professional Plaza on U.S. 441. The deputy determined that Branson’s driver’s license had been suspended and that he has been identified as a habitual traffic offender. Branson fled the scene before the deputy was able to catch up with him.
The following morning, the deputy spotted Branson in a vehicle at a residence on E. County Road 466. Branson took off running and the deputy followed. When the deputy caught up with Branson, he fired a taser gun at him. Even after being tasered, Branson continued to run. When the deputy tackled Branson, he kicked at the deputy and tried to punch him. The deputy had to use pepper spray to subdue Branson.
The deputy suffered numerous scratches to his hands, arms and legs, in addition to being exposed to the pepper spray.
Both men were transported to TVRH.
After he was medically cleared, Branson was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on felony charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and driving while license suspended. Bond was set at $10,000.
Branson had been arrested earlier this year in a theft case at Target at Rolling Acres Plaza. You can read more about that arrest HERE