On the night that a Columbia County ambulance was stolen, bodycam footage shows deputies pull over an ambulance transporting a patient and pull a gun on the driver.
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — After an ambulance was stolen in Columbia County late Saturday night, deputies pulled over the wrong ambulance — which had a patient inside.
An ambulance was stolen by a man who was being treated after possibly taking drugs and acting erratic. He ended up driving onto the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office lawn, where he was arrested.
Bodyworn camera video shows two deputies pull over another ambulance traveling in the county, which was transporting a patient. The footage was recorded just after midnight Sunday.
The officer in the driver’s seat pulls out a gun, screaming at the ambulance driver, Daniel Alderman: “Let me see your hands. Step out of the ambulance. Let me see your hands. Step out now.”
One of the deputies says into his radio: “We’ve got one at gunpoint.”
Alderman gets out with his hands up.
One of the deputies says: “Is that– who is this?”
The deputy holding the gun asks Alderman: “Who’s in the ambulance with you?”
Alderman says, “My partner and a patient.”
Confused, the deputy says, “A patient?” He pauses. “Okay… We were advised that the patient took the van.”
Alderman responds, “What?”
The deputy driving and the deputy in the passenger seat get out. They tell Alderman to approach and that he’s “good.”
Sirens can be heard in the background as one of the deputies asks him if he’s seen another ambulance.
Alderman replies, “I don’t know.”
The officers then start rushing him to get back into the ambulance. “You’re good. Get in your van. Get in your van. Get in your van!” While the police officer is ordering him, Alderman can be heard asking, “What is happening?”
The officers get back into the car. Someone over the radio tells them, “That’s the wrong ambulance. I’m behind an ambulance right now. 10-4, he’s coming up to ya.” They drive away without explaining to Alderman what happened.
First Coast News reached out to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office late Thursday night to request more information on this incident, and we will update this story with their response.
