Florida Man Sues After Police Mistake Donut Icing for Meth

Donuts can be addictive–but they’re not drugs. That seems like common sense, but unfortunately an Orlando man named Daniel Rushing was arrested late last year because local police mistook dried Krispy Kreme donut icing in his car for meth. Now, Rushing is suing the city for $15,000 in damages due to that arrest, as well as the roadside drug test manufacturer that the police officer used.

Rushing was pulled over by Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins last December. He was pulled over for a legitimate reason–he failed to come to a complete stop after leaving a parking lot. He allowed the officer to search his car, and she found some donut frosting flakes. She described it in her report as “a rock like substance on the floor,” but Rushing insists he tried to tell her that it was just leftovers from his morning snack.

Rushing said:

Every other Wednesday, I get a glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme. (Police) found four little pieces of icing on the floorboard, which I’m kind of embarrassed about because I should have, you know, vacuumed the car better.

So, Riggs-Hopkins used a roadside test to test the substance, and alleges that it tested positive for meth. But Riggs-Hopkins arrested Rushing on a drug possession charge and he spent almost 10 hours in jail before he was able to post bail. And a few weeks later, when the police tested the supposed meth in a lab, it was shown that there were no illicit substances in the frosting pieces.

In addition to suing the city of Orlando–he alleges that Riggs-Hopkins should have recognized that the substance wasn’t meth, and was improperly trained to use the roadside test–Rushing is suing Safariland, the company that produced the drug tests. According to local news, “Rushing hopes to force more scrutiny over the field tests.”

Rushing’s concerns are fair, but that hasn’t stopped the case from garnering some national attention–after all, donuts may be addictive, but they’re certainly not illegal.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.