You ever had a doughnut so savory you thought the delicious glaze was actually just delicious crystal meth? No. But cops in Orlando allegedly mistook "four tiny flakes of glaze" for crystal methamphetamine after pulling over 64-year-old Daniel Rushing, the Orlando Sentinelreports. An arrest report detailing the Dec. 11 incident says the alleged glaze flakes tested positive for meth using roadside testing equipment and Rushing was then handcuffed and arrested.
"It feels scary when you haven't done anything wrong and get arrested," Rushing told the Sentinel Wednesday. "It's just a terrible feeling." The arresting officer, Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins, reportedly pulled Rushing over because he didn't come to a complete stop when exiting a convenience store parking lot. Police said Rushing was also driving 42 mph in a 30 mph zone. "I didn't have anything to hide," Rushing, who agreed to let officers search his vehicle after telling them he had a weapon and a concealed weapons permit, said.
Rushing said he "kept telling" officers the flakes were glaze from a doughnut, as he previously had an "every other Wednesday" Krispy Kreme routine. Though Rushing was booked into the county jail "for about 10 hours" before being released on bond, the State Attorney's Office ultimately dropped the case after an additional Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) test showed that the flakes were not from an illegal drug.
When Complex reached out to the Orlando Police Department Thursday, a spokesperson provided the following:
"To be clear, he wasn't ultimately charged with a crime - so no charges were ever brought by the State Attorney's Office. We believe that the arrest was lawful - meaning that based on the officer's experience, and the field drug test that came up positive, probable cause existed to make a lawful arrest. When the FDLE lab showed it to be otherwise, Mr Rushing was not criminally prosecuted.
Rushing's attorney, William Ruffier, told the Sentinel his client is expected to file a lawsuit against the city next month seeking unspecified damages.
