A Slidell-area man was arrested over the weekend after he attempted to disarm a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop.
Shortly after noon Sunday (June 4), a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy executed a traffic stop on a black Dodge pickup truck at the I-12 off ramp onto I-10 Westbound after observing the vehicle being driven erratically.
Immediately upon the stop, the driver of the pickup, later identified as Michael Annaloro (DOB 1/28/1975) of Slidell, exited the pickup truck, rushed the deputy’s patrol vehicle and began screaming erratically at the deputy. At this time, a second patrol unit showed up to assist. During the verbal interaction between Annaloro and the deputies, Annaloro stated he was entering his vehicle to retrieve a gun, prompting the initial deputy to unholster her weapon and the second deputy to unholster her Tazer. Annaloro then went back inside his vehicle and began riffling through items inside in an apparent attempt to locate a firearm.
As he exited his vehicle he had one hand concealed behind his leg. He immediately again became engaged in a verbal altercation with deputies as they were attempting to de-escalate the situation and take Annaloro into custody. Annaloro then forcefully grabbed the deputy’s firearm and attempted to disarm the deputy, causing the deputy to discharge her weapon one time. No one was injured.
Annaloro continued to act erratically, and both the initial deputy and a second responding deputy attempted to utilize non-lethal force to subdue Annaloro. However, they were both unsuccessful due to Annaloro knocking out the Tazer probes both times.
Annaloro was ultimately taken into custody and placed under arrest. A loaded firearm was located inside the vehicle.
Annaloro was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center for Reckless Operation, Resisting a Police Officer with Force, Attempting to Disarm a Police Officer and Failure to Appear.
The investigation is complete, and the deputy has been cleared of all wrongdoing and will be returning to duty.
“This particular incident is certainly a reminder of the dangers our deputies face on a daily basis,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “Fortunately, no one was injured, but the outcome could have been very different had the deputy not responded as trained and in the professional manner that she did. Ultimately, she was able to take into custody what appeared to be a very agitated individual while also protecting the lives of everyone involved.”