UPDATE, 3:24 p.m.: Tyson's been fired, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Original post, 10 a.m.:
Brace yourself -- this one's a story about the Boca Raton Police investigating an unmarked Lantana Police car crashing into an unmarked Palm Beach Sheriff's Office car. There's been a lot of crime stuff on the Pulp lately, but this one gets posted because, according to the police report, Lantana Police Chief Jeffrey Tyson is the one who done did the crashin'.
Police say it all started when Tyson was sloppy drunk yesterday around 1 in the afternoon, driving around in a Lantana Police-owned Ford Explorer.
He allegedly rear-ended a PBSO vehicle waiting at a red light on Military Trail, then switched lanes and kept driving north. The sheriff's deputy that he bumped then pulled up next to Tyson and told him to pull over, but "the driver had a blank look on his face."
Tyson ended up driving 24 blocks before pulling into a parking lot, where he reportedly said, "What do you want? I only bumped you."
Tyson changed the terminology a bit when Boca Raton officers showed up.
"I tapped him in the ass," Tyson reportedly said when asked about the crash. "No big deal."
Then, a serious case of the confusies. From the report:
Chief Tyson stated he was on Federal Highway on the way home from his doctor. He stated he used to live in Boca Raton and was familiar with the area. When Officer Daly stated the crash did not occur on Federal Highway, Chief Tyson's response was he was on Congress Avenue. Chief Tyson again stated that he was very familiar with Boca Raton. Officer Daly told Chief Tyson that the crash actually occurred on Military Trail. Chief Tyson's response was "I guess so." ...
While Officer Daly was speaking with Chief Tyson, I was standing approximately two feet in front of him and to the right. I could smell a strong odor of alcoholic beverage from his mouth area while he was speaking.
Shortly after, Tyson was arrested after refusing to take a field sobriety test, and police would later find a metal coffee cup in the car with "a red liquid which smelled like an alcoholic beverage." When he was taken in for booking, Tyson blew a .229 and .234 on the Breathalyzer -- almost four three times the legal limit.
Lantana Commander Sean Scheller has been named acting chief for the time being, according to the Palm Beach Post.
