Do you remember the guy who was arrested for having what police thought was methamphetamine in his car, when really, it was just the flaky remains of a Krispy Kreme doughnut he’d chowed down on earlier? Of course you do, because meth and doughnuts. He said a few months back he was planning to sue over the incident, and now he’s doing exactly that.
The Florida man filed a lawsuit against the city of Orlando and Safariland, the company that produces the drug kits police used to test the mysterious substance at the scene, the Orlando Sentinel reports, seeking damages in excess of $15,000.
It all started last December when the man was pulled over for speeding, and failed to come to a full stop, the police report notes. The officer noticed a “rock like substance” on the floor near his feet, and asked if she could search the vehicle.
She tested the substance twice using a roadside drug kid produced by Safariland, and both times the test indicated meth, police said.
The man was arrested on drug-possession charges and spent about 10 hours in jail before he bonded out. Later tests by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed the substance was actually doughnut glaze, and he was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.
In his suit, he claims the officer wasn’t properly trained to use the drug-testing kits, and alleges that she should have known the glaze was glaze and not meth, and that she should have waited to arrest him until after the FDLE had a chance to test the material. He says he suffered emotional harm, including embarrassment and humiliation, and that there is now a mugshot photo of him living on the internet.
Man sues city of Orlando, drug-test company after doughnut-glaze arrest [Orlando Sentinel]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist