The relationship between law enforcement and society has been extremely complex throughout the last several years. Although it didn’t seem like Boca Raton resident Tate Alexander Turner had any sort of political or larger anti-police motivations, he still elected to steer his car into a police vehicle that was pulled over in a construction zone on Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale.
Trooper Bernex Vincent was sitting inside of the car that was struck last week. Without much time to react, Vincent could have been seriously injured or killed, but escaped with relatively minor soreness.
As for Turner, his reasoning for driving his Subaru Outback straight into Vincent’s vehicle was extremely personal. His life had not been going very well since the death of his father and he was outwardly depressed and troubled.
“He stated he wanted to go to jail because he ‘felt like he was already in jail,’” Sergeant Matthew Gallagher recounted in his conversation with Turner. “When asked why he(Turner) felt that way, he said ‘it’s a bunch of things.’” Via Bocanewsnow.com
According to reports, Turner was not impaired or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It appeared that due to the negative course his life had taken, he decided to take a drastic measure to be noticed, feeling like he had nothing to lose.
To that end, he directed his car through lanes that were closed on the interstate, indicated as such by the presence of traffic cones and arrow boards.
Turner’s actions landed him in Broward County Jail. They also garnered several charges against the 25-year-old, such as aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and a traffic citation for deliberately driving around and through barricades.
This incident underscores the need to talk to someone if you are going through a tough time, but it also highlights the notion that an innocent person can be in harm’s way because of a stranger’s actions.
If this happens to you, the law firm of Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath stands ready to help and can be reached at (561) 655-1990.
