A Florida man has been arrested for drunk driving a lawn mower and crashing into a police vehicle on May 4.
Gary Anderson, 68, was being questioned after Haines City Police found him drunk in a riding lawn mower that allegedly struck a police car outside the Rodriguez Fashion store about 7 p.m. local time.
The police officer noticed something was wrong after hearing a loud bang from the direction of the parking lot.
The officer claims Anderson admitted he had just struck the police cruiser and he was driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol. The man denied causing any damage to the police car.
Anderson then began laughing before becoming aggressive towards the officer.
Police took Anderson into custody and drove him to the Haines City Police Department. The suspect then claimed he had been poisoned and asked to be taken to the nearest hospital. Police transported him to the Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport, 34 miles southwest of Orlando.
On arrival Anderson agreed to do a Breathalyzer test, which showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.241—more than three times higher than the level when a driver becomes impaired.
Police also found cocaine in the suspect’s blood system. Anderson claims police planted the drug in him.
According to officers, Anderson’s driver’s license had been suspended since March 1978, when the Jimmy Carter Administration (D) was still in power, and he’s been convicted twice of DUI. The suspect was also accused of using racial slurs against police.
Anderson is being charged with committing his third DUI offense in a decade, driving with a suspended license, and declining to participate in a DUI test. He is being held at the Polk County jail and bail has been set at $3,000.
Police commended the actions of the officer on duty.
