OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — An Osceola County deputy was arrested for rear-ending a state trooper guarding a construction site while drunk on the Florida Turnpike Tuesday night, charging documents claim.
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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 the fact 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.
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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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