On Saturday, August 13, deputies were dispatched to a domestic incident on Choptank Road. The caller reported that she had stabbed her husband in self-defense as he was attacking her. The husband fled the scene in a Pontiac G6 with Maryland license plates.

Deputy First Class J. D. Floirendo was driving to the scene of the stabbing and noticed a vehicle matching the description provided by dispatch. He turned to follow the vehicle at the intersection of Garrisonville and Patton Drive and activated his emergency lights in an effort to initiate a traffic stop. The driver did not respond to the emergency equipment and continued eastbound on Garrisonville Road. Deputy Floirendo then activated his siren but there was no signal of the driver’s intention to pull over as he traveled through a red light and weaved between the right and left lane. The driver stopped his vehicle near the intersection of Shenandoah Lane, approximately two miles from the initial encounter at Patton Drive. The deputy approached the vehicle but could not get the driver to open the door or window to communicate. The deputy, knowing that the stabbing had occurred and fearing for the driver’s safety, broke the rear driver’s side window to unlock the front door. The deputy then saw the injury and the large amount of blood on the left side of the driver’s body. Deputy First Class J.C. Miller and Deputy B.R. Wilczynski then arrived on the scene. Floirendo advised Miller to get a tourniquet due to the nature of the injury and the loss of blood. Once Miller applied the tourniquet, the driver became verbally abusive and combative. With the tourniquet in place, the driver was then provided transport to a local hospital with Deputy Miller accompanying the transport.

The Trauma Surgeon at the hospital volunteered to Sheriff’s Office personnel that the tourniquet saved the man’s life. He was later charged with Domestic Assault. The investigation into the incident continues.