LAKE WALES, Fla. — A Polk County corrections sergeant crashed into a guardrail while under the influence before threatening a deputy during his arrest, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
It started just after 6 p.m. Tuesday when deputies responded to Canal Road and Cherry Pocket Road in Lake Wales for reports of a single-car crash.
They said they arrived to find 31-year-old Sean Teehan sitting on the hood of his Honda Civic with “bloodshot, watery eyes, a slurred speech pattern" and "a moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath."
Teehan was also reportedly moving lethargically and had "a difficult time standing unsupported.”
According to the sheriff's office, Teehan, a corrections sergeant at the Polk Correctional Institution in Polk City, was driving west on Canal Road when he crashed into a guardrail.
Deputies said they were unable to conduct field sobriety tests due to Teehan's level of intoxication "and the possible danger to himself if he attempted the exercises."
Teehan was arrested and transported to a processing center where he provided breath samples with blood alcohol levels over three times the legal limit, the sheriff's office reported. He was taken to an area hospital to be evaluated.
As Teehan was being discharged, he reportedly told a deputy, "Don’t worry, your time is coming. I’ll see you on the inside, I work for the DOC.”
Teehan has been charged with DUI with property damage, DUI with breath alcohol of .15 or higher, and threatening a public servant. He is currently in the Polk County Jail and is being held without bond until a first appearance hearing set for Thursday afternoon.
According to the sheriff's office, Teehan has a previous criminal history which includes charges of resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer.
“Driving under the influence is illegal and deadly, and as a Corrections Sergeant, Teehan knew better," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Luckily no one was hurt in this instance. If you’ve been drinking, please don’t drive. It puts your life and the lives of those on the road at risk.”
