Florida Man Gets DUI After Crashing Lawnmower Into Police Car

A Florida man is facing charges of driving under the influence after he crashed his riding lawnmower into a police car Saturday night.

The Haines City Police Department said 68-year-old Gary Wayne Anderson crashed into the vehicle while an officer was away from the car, according to the Lakeland Ledger.

The officer walked back to the car after hearing the crash and saw a man on a lawn mower with a trailer, according to the Bradenton Herald. 

The officer noticed minor damage to a rear plastic piece on the vehicle, and Anderson admitted hitting the cruiser but insisted there was no damage.

Anderson told the officer that he was drunk, according to police.

Officers said Anderson was unable to complete the field sobriety tests and said his demeanor “ranged from laughing to aggressive.”

After Anderson was taken into custody, he reportedly accused the police of poisoning him and asked to be taken to a hospital, according to WPLG-TV.

Police said that Anderson’s blood-alcohol content registered .241 more than three times the legal limit and that he also had cocaine in his system. However, Anderson insisted the police put the cocaine in his system, making his point with profane language and racial slurs, according to ABC Action News.

Along with the DUI, Anderson was charged with refusing to submit to a DUI test after a license suspension. He has two prior DUI convictions and his license has been suspended since 1978, police said.

Haines City Police Chief Jim Elensky publicly thanked his officers for keeping calm in the situation.

“I’m proud of the professional demeanor our officers showed when dealing with this heavily intoxicated, belligerent offender,” Elensky told reporters. “It’s never a good idea to get behind the wheel drunk, even if that wheel is to a Craftsman, Massey Ferguson or John Deere.”

Anderson remains in the Polk County Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail.