PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Panama City Beach police have released more evidence in the case of a man who was hit and killed by a vehicle last week.
They had arrested the victim, 27-year-old Derek Lane Burnette, of Dothan, Ala. a few hours before his death. After a records request from News 13, the agency released video footage, taken from police body cameras, that show what happened before Burnette’s arrest and while he was in custody.
Officers responded to a disturbance sometime around midnight on Wednesday, June 28th. A tow truck driver said someone was banging on his truck as he was trying to tow a vehicle. He claimed the man punched him, so he fought back. The man then left the scene.
Police then located Burnette. Burnette told the tow truck driver was trying to take his motorcycle and punch him repeatedly.
“That dude hit me like 12 times,” Burnette said on the video. “I never did nothing but say why are you, what’s going on? why is my vehicle being repo’ed.”
Burnette quickly becomes agitated with the police officers.
“I know what to do. I’m going to jail, I’m getting in the car, what do you want me to do.”
The tow truck driver told one of the officers he was willing to drop the whole thing, and both men could go their separate ways. But Burnette insisted on pressing charges and the situation escalated from there.
He also banged his head inside the patrol car, cutting his head. Paramedics examined him and said he was not badly injured. once placed in the back of the transport van.
Burnette again began banging his head against the metal wall, trying to hurt himself. Officers took him to the bay county jail. it was determined he should go to the hospital. An ambulance arrived, beach police officers issued Burnette a notice to appear in court, and released him to paramedics.
This video is the last we see of Derek Burnette, until his body was found Friday lying beside Highway 231 near Ormond Avenue. He was hit by a vehicle that left the scene.
State troopers found a vehicle they believed was involved at St. Andrews State Park.
No one has been arrested in the case.
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