Man tased by Tampa officer shortly before being killed by hit-and-run driver

A man was killed in a hit-and-run after Tampa police officers tried to arrest him during a police investigation, according to officials.

Tampa police said they responded to the 4000 block of West Hillsborough Avenue around 2:20 a.m. after a man was reportedly choking a woman in the parking lot.

A 911 call released by Tampa police said the man had gotten into an altercation with both the woman and a homeless man. The caller told the dispatcher that the suspect, 29-year-old Frank E. Rodriguez, did not appear to be armed.

The homeless man told 8 on Your Side that he was trying to help get the man off the woman after witnessing him choking her.

“I ran across and hit him with my cane through his truck window,” said Ronnie Coogle. “He jumped on me and started pounding on me, hitting me in the face.”

“I don’t know; he’s beating the s— out of her,” the caller said. “He just hit a homeless guy too.”

Police said the first officer at the scene, Officer Luis Garcia, found Rodriguez and attempted to question him. They said the suspect refused to obey commands and tried to re-enter the vehicle the woman was in.

Video of the incident showed Rodriguez and the alleged victim saying he was helping her find her keys. The victim said she was fine multiple times and did not need help.

However, the argument between the suspect and the officer continued to escalate as Rodriguez walked away from the vehicle a second time, with the officer saying Rodriguez was not free to go and touching him on the chest to stop him from moving.

Rodriguez then tried to run away as the officer warned him to stop, threatening to shock him with his Taser.

“You’re gonna get tased, bro,” Garcia said.

As Officer Garcia deployed his Taser, a vehicle traveling eastbound on Hillsborough Avenue struck the suspect and continued without stopping.

The body cam video showed Rodriguez being run over and immediately becoming unresponsive. Police said he died at the scene.

Tampa police said the incident is classified as an in-custody death because an officer was trying to make an arrest when the suspect was hit by the car. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will take the lead on the investigation.

Police said they are searching for “a blue 4-door sedan, possibly a Nissan Altima.”

The woman involved in the incident did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

In an interview with Telemundo 49, the woman said she and Rodriguez were having a minor altercation but denied that he choked her or hit her. She said a homeless man intervened, and that’s when a fight broke out between her boyfriend and the other man.

“He was not choking me,” she said through tears. “It was just between me and my man. It was not that serious for it to lead up to him dying.”

According to police, Rodriguez had pending felony charges of domestic violence and felony criminal mischief from a Hillsborough County arrest on May 20.