Danny Eslick will not be racing in the 2016 Daytona 200, as he has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, a felony of the third degree in Volusia County.
The events leading to Eslick’s arrest transpired around 11:46pm on Monday, March 7th, in Daytona Beach, Florida and during the Daytona Bike Week festivities.
In response to Eslick’s arrest, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) have suspended Eslick from this weekend’s race, after consulting with the Daytona International Speedway.
The AMA has levied an additional penalty against Eslick, saying that he will continue to be suspended from all AMA-sanctioned events until the case with the Volusia County Clerk of Circuit Court is resolved. Once resolved, the AMA may release the suspension, or take further punitive actions against Eslick.
In a joint press release, the organizations state that “participating in professional motorcycle competition is a privilege, not a right, and there is zero tolerance for behavior that is detrimental to the promotion of motorcycling in all its forms,” clearly taking the opinion that Eslick was in the wrong.
The news is unfortunate for fans and for Danny Eslick, as the Oklahoma rider was looking to make this year’s Daytona 200 his third victory in a row at the iconic event. We imagine his team, TOBC Racing Yamaha, is disappointed as well.
We should remind readers that Eslick is presumed innocent until proven guilty. With that in mind, the full police reports can be viewed here, but the officer’s account of the incident reads as follows, formatted here for easier reading:
On March 7, 2016 at approximately 2346 Hours, while working a detail at Ocean Ave and Main St I responded to a call for a battery that occurred at the intersection of Main St and Atlantic Ave. Upon my arrival, I observed a white male (The defendant) running North Bound on Ocean Ave. Special Events Officer Soto witnessed the defendant push Beth Gilbert to the ground and then began to run East on Main St to Ocean Ave.
I identified myself as a Daytona Beach Police Officer and the defendant stopped and put his hands in the air and stated “I’m just goofing off with my friends.” As I approached the defendant he began to walk away from me. I gave the defendant clear and concise commands to stop but he ignored my command and continued to walk away from me. At this point I grabbed the defendant’s right arm to prevent him from leaving.
The defendant responded by shoving me in my shoulder causing my portable radio microphone to detach from my uniform. The defendant then began to run West Bound in an alleyway toward Atlantic Ave, from Ocean Ave. I pursued the defendant, on foot, into the alleyway and grabbed him by his clothing. The defendant was able to break free and from my hold and turned around and struck me in the chest with a closed fist one time.
The defendant then put his hands up and postured in a fighting stance. I regained my hold on the defendant and struck him three times with a closed fist on his upper torso in an attempted to subdue him as he actively resisted me. The defendant again shoved me and began to runaway West Bound in the alleyway. The defendant tripped and fell as he was attempting get away from me.
I attempted to spray the defendant with my department issued OC spray but was unable to make contact with the defendant, as he was running away from me. The defendant climbed over a fence into a parking lot where Special Events Officer Soto was able to gain control of the defendant. At this time the defendant ceased all aggressive movements and was placed into custody.
O-1 did not have any visible injuries and refused rescue. O-1 stated she did not want to press charges and did not want to fill out a written statement. One digital photograph was taken and submitted into property and evidence via email. The defendant was transported the Beach Side Prescient for processing and later transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail.
No Officers were injured during this investigation.
Source: AMA & Daytona Beach Police
Comments