Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood was injured in a scuffle with another man on Main Street Saturday afternoon and had to be treated at Halifax Medical Center.
Chitwood broke his hand, had his finger bitten and suffered a deep gash to his forehead in the scuffle Michael A. Dangelo of Daytona Beach. Dangelo approached Chitwood on the street and asked the police chief if he could speak to him. At that point Dangelo said “it was his constitutional right to kill any cop that he thought was bad,” according to a police report.
At that point Chitwood turned and walked away from Dangelo who in turn spit on the back of Chitwood's shirt. Chitwood then turned and told Dangelo he was under arrest and pushed the suspect against a wall to arrest him. When Chitwood went for Dangelo's hand he was bitten on the finger by the suspect who refused to release his bite.
During a struggle to get Dangelo on the ground Chitwood hit his forehead on a parked motorcycle that left a deep gash in his head. Several witnesses assisted Chitwood in Dangelo until other officers arrived.
Chitwood was transported to Halifax Medical Center where he was treated for a broken right hand and finger, deep lacerations to his finger and a gash to the forehead that required stitches.
Dangelo was taken to the Volusia County Jail and charged with two felony counts — aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence — and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
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