Nation & World News
Florida man allegedly claims driving dog led police on high-speed chase
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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A Florida man allegedly claimed man's best friend is to blame for a recent high-speed chase with police.
According to Bradenton Patch, Reliford Cooper III, 26, was arrested Wednesday night in Manatee County after a deputy reportedly saw him speeding. The deputy said he attempted to pull over Cooper, but the suspect kept going, running a stop sign, accelerating and turning multiple times before driving into two ditches and finally hitting a home. Cooper then fled on foot to a nearby church, where the pastor found him in a bathroom, deputies said.
But the story doesn't end there.
According to WFTS, deputies said Cooper, who smelled of alcohol and marijuana, berated them for driving "slow as [expletive]."
"My dog was driving that car," he reportedly said. "I ran because I wanted to. You ain't gonna find no drugs or guns on me."
It is unknown whether a dog was actually in the car during the chase.
Cooper, who claimed his back hurt, was taken to the hospital before he was booked into the Manatee County Jail. He has been charged with driving while intoxicated, causing property damage, fleeing from police and leaving an accident scene, Patch reports.
