Portsmouth man connected, charged with incident with Charles City law enforcement officer

A Portsmouth man has been charged with several crimes stemming from a June 9 incident that saw Charles City County Sgt. Floyd Miles Jr. succumb to a medical emergency.

Derek Croom, 59, has been charged with one count of felonious assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of felony destruction of property, and one misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice.

On June 9 around 12:30 p.m. Miles was monitoring traffic at the intersection of John Tyler Memorial Highway (Route 5) and Wayside Road (Route 607) around 12:30 p.m. when an individual on a moped fell onto the vehicle. The deputy noticed blood and asked if the subject was okay. The subject indicated that people were after him and attempting to kill him.

Miles placed the subject into the rear of his vehicle and contacted Charles City County Fire/EMS for assistance. The subject was placed in the rear of the ambulance to be checked out. After several minutes, Miles went to the rear of the ambulance when the subject became combative. The subject struck the deputy and a struggle ensued between the subject, the law enforcement officer, and EMS. The struggle triggered a medical emergency in the deputy, resulting in him being rushed to MCV/New Kent Medical Center. Unfortunately, the deputy succumbed to his medical emergency.

Croom was released from the hospital on June 13 and placed in custody without incident. He is currently being held without bond at Riverside Regional Jail and is awaiting arraignment.

The incident continues to remain under investigation.