SUNRISE, Fla. – Sunrise police released body camera video Wednesday that they said shows officers responding to a rock-throwing road rage incident behind a supermarket in late April.
While the alleged victim is heard describing the suspect as a “random person,” the perpetrator turned out to be a well-known athlete, according to police.
They said former Major League Baseball All-Star shortstop Rafael Furcal was the man responsible for the April 28 incident.
The 47-year-old, who now lives in Weston, made a name for himself with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. He won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 and finished his big-league career in 2014 in a brief stint with the Miami Marlins.
Furcal later turned himself in at the Broward County jail on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and throwing a deadly missile in connection with the incident, which authorities said happened behind the Publix at 12500 W. Sunrise Blvd., near Sawgrass Mills.
Body camera video shows blood dripping down a man’s hand as he told police what he said happened.
An arrest affidavit states the victim was dropping off a co-worker at the store when he nearly collided head-on with Furcal as both men drove their trucks through the rear of the store’s parking lot.
The victim, it states, told investigators he “quickly made a turn to his right to avoid” a crash.
As the victim dropped his co-worker off, police said Furcal “exited his truck, and began picking up rocks from the ground and began throwing them at his work truck while he was still seated” and also threw a plastic bottle.
The affidavit states the victim got out and confronted the World Series champion to “see what his problem was.”
“As (the victim) exited the truck and walked towards the suspect (Furcal), the suspect then picked up a larger rock, the size of a small palm, and as he got close to the suspect, the suspect threw it at him,” the detective wrote. “(The victim) stated that he raised up his left hand to in an attempt to protect himself and was able to block the rock from hitting his body, but the rock caused several lacerations to his hand.”
The detective said the victim reported chasing and punching Furcal after being hit with the rock. Furcal, police said, then “ran back to his truck and fled the scene.”
Authorities said they were able to trace the truck’s license plate back to Furcal.
The 2000 National League Rookie of the Year, originally from the Dominican Republic, would later be released on bond after turning himself in at the jail.