An inmate making a Hiillsborough County courtroom appearance Tuesday morning was quickly corralled after he tried to grab a deputy's gun as she walked by, authorities said.
Just after 9 a.m., 24-year-old Robert Lewis Bridges III was sitting on a bench with other inmates in Circuit Court Judge Martha Cook's courtroom waiting for his case to be called on felony charges.
He was secured with leg shackles and handcuffs in front of him with an attached waist chain.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Master Sergeant Tracey Wallace was in the courtroom with two uniformed bailiffs providing courtroom security when, surveillance video appears to show, Bridges lunged forward with both hands and grabbed her holstered gun.
"He was studying me, studying my equipment that I wear," said Wallace. "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lunge at me, I felt him."
Wallace, an 18-year veteran, pulled away and prevented Bridges from pulling the gun from her holster.
"My instincts kicked in, and I just swiped and turned away and created distance between him," said Wallace.
The two other deputies immediately jumped in and restrained Bridges before removing him from the courtroom.
"We're constantly faced with the possibility that this happens," said Colonel Ken Davis, HCSO Dept. of Detention Services.
Bridges was taken to a holding cell where he waited while authorities filed additional changes of battery on a law enforcement officer and depriving an officer of a means of protection.
"You always wonder how you're going to react in a situation like this," said Wallace. "It's always in the back of your mind, you always have to be prepared."
No one was injured, according to the sheriff's office.