OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Charges were dropped against an Osceola County deputy who was arrested for rear-ending a Florida Highway Patrol trooper guarding a construction site while drunk on the Florida Turnpike Tuesday night, according to court documents.
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A spokesperson for FHP told WFTV that, “This incident is under internal review, additional information is unavailable at this time.”
The State Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit sent Eyewitness News the following statement regarding the charges being dropped:
The trooper wrote in the arrest report that based on his observations, training and experience, the deputy was not under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. The arrest report detailed the deputy did not demonstrate any signs of impairment during any of the standard field sobriety exercises. The breath test results were .008% and .000%, which are under the legal blood alcohol concentration limit of .08%.
Supervisors from FHP contacted our office to notify us that in consultation with their senior command staff and general counsel, there was no probable cause for the arrest. They requested the charge be dropped.
Based on the charging affidavit, moving forward with prosecution on a misdemeanor charge of DUI Property Damage or Personal Injury would not have been ethically or legally appropriate. Our duty is to seek justice, not merely convictions, and in this case, the evidence simply did not support criminal charges.
— Office of Monique H. Worrell - State Attorney, Ninth Judicial Circuit
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On Tuesday, Hunter Perkins, 30, “embedded” the off-duty FHP car into a construction vehicle, then traveled an additional 600 feet before coming to a stop, troopers claimed.
Troopers said Perkins did not remember the crash or that the car he allegedly hit had blue lights on.
“He said he was driving and then woke up on the ditch,” the report stated.
Troopers said Perkins passed a field sobriety test but admitted to drinking several glasses of wine while at a paint-and-sip event with his girlfriend.
Because of that and the memory issues, they placed him under arrest.
They said the trooper he hit had minor injuries.
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Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said Perkins had been relieved of sworn duties and additional actions could be taken based on the outcome of the case.
“It is very unfortunate to see a law enforcement officer arrested for violating the same laws they are sworn to uphold,” the agency’s statement said. “We are glad that no one was harmed in this incident.”
It’s not the first time Perkins had been enveloped in scandal. In 2020, he was suspended for two days after he admitted to sending a woman he pulled over explicit messages and photos of himself, an investigative report showed.
Documents showed Perkins told investigators his marriage was in a bad place and he wasn’t getting the attention he wanted.
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