WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy gave up his badge after being arrested for driving while impaired.
The agency said in a news release that 26-year-old Josiah Perry was driving on K-Ville Avenue near Pinter Road around 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, when he somehow left the road and flipped his Ford SUV.
Perry was not hurt and told the responding deputy he recently drank a vodka cranberry, the sheriff's office said. Investigators said he initially told authorities someone else was driving.
A deputy noted Perry's eyes appeared bloodshot and watery, according to law enforcement.
"Perry has lost my trust and faith, as well as that of the community," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "He can no longer serve as a law enforcement officer as a result of his conduct and untruthfulness."
Perry gave two breath samples, which the sheriff's office said came back 0.128g/210L and 0.129g/210L — the legal limit is 0.08g/210L.
Had he not resigned, Perry would have been fired, the agency said. Perry was hired on July 23, 2019.
