A Gainesville man was arrested Saturday for possession of crack cocaine with the intent to sell after he was Tasered and wrestled to the ground by police.
Anthony Leon Flowers, 40, was approached by Gainesville Police officer Shawn T. Barnes after someone called police and said Flowers was selling crack near Southeast Fifth Avenue.
Flowers consented to a search, but when Barnes felt a pill bottle in Flowers' pocket, Flowers shoved the officer off and began running, according to his arrest report.
Barnes immediately Tasered Flowers, but he was wearing a sweatshirt, and the Taser prongs didn't attach like they were supposed to, said GPD spokeswoman Summer Hallett.
Barnes caught Flowers after a three-block chase, and Flowers threw a pill bottle into some bushes before Barnes wrestled him to the ground, according to the report.
After additional officers arrived, Flowers was eventually handcuffed, the report stated.
Police found between 10 and 12 rocks of crack cocaine in the bottle he had thrown.
Hallet said that although a person with a rock or two might have the drug just for personal use, she said that "when you have 12 you're looking to make some cash."
