Man Wins Lawsuit Against Police After Being Arrested For Eating A Doughnut

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Man Wins Lawsuit Against Police After Being Arrested For Eating A Doughnut

Orlando Sentinel/Huffington Post

In 2015, Florida cops had been monitoring a 7-11 parking lot because there had been a series of complaints surrounding drugs coming out of the area. So when cops pulled over 65-year-old Daniel Rushing for speeding out of the parking lot, they already had a few preconceived notions about what was going on.

kotaku.com.au

It started off as a routine traffic stop until one of the officers noticed a "rocky, white substance" on the floor of his car. The officers began getting excited, exclaiming that the "rocky, white substance" must be cocaine, or crystal meth.

"I kept telling them, 'That's glaze from a doughnut,'" Rushing said. "They tried to say it was crack cocaine at first, then they said, 'No, it's meth, crystal meth.'"

WFTV

One Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins then attempted to administer a series of roadside drug tests, tests she was not properly trained to administer, and two of them turned up "positive" for cocaine.

Following these "positive" tests, Rushing was arrested, strip searched, and ended up spending several hours in jail before being released on a $2,500 bond.

When the lab finally got around to testing samples from the arrest they discovered that Mr. Rushing had been telling the truth. The chargers were dropped, but the damage was done, Rushing had already been dragged through the media as a "drug user".

Daily Mail

Cpl. Riggs-Hopkins was reprimanded by her superiors, but she ended up resigning a week later.  

A new kind of legal battle ensued. Rushing filed a lawsuit against the city for unlawful arrest. He eventually settled with the City of Orlando for a payout of $37,500.

The effect that this arrest has had on his life has been profound.

"I haven't been able to find work. People just go online and see that you've been arrested," said Rushing.

Going through such a ridiculous experience hasn't changed Rushing's routine though. He still goes to buy a doughnut from Krispy Kreme every other week in order to enjoy one of their addicting baked creations. He says that he just won't eat them in his car anymore.

iFranchise Philippines

Just how far would you go to enjoy a Krispy Kreme doughnut?