The chase began when a four-door white vehicle was spotted speeding by eagle-eyed cops, but raced off instead of pulling over. 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.
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In a bid to evade arrest after being caught following a long police chase, a man in the USA state of Florida blamed his dog for driving his auto in an inebriated condition.
Deputies said he got out and ran to a nearby church, where he hid in the bathroom.
There, the driver, Reliford Cooper III, 26, overcorrected, swerved, went through another ditch and crashed into a home. People at the church forced him to leave, and the deputy took Cooper into custody.
While he was being handcuffed, Cooper said, “I wasn’t driving that auto”.
Then the man, who reeked of booze and marijuana, asked cops “who was chasing me?” before branding them “slow as f***”. I ran because I wanted to.
Cooper dared deputies to search his vehicle, claiming he didn’t have drugs or guns.
He was taken to a local hospital for neck and stomach pains before he was booked on several charges that included drunken driving, aggravated fleeing and leaving the scene of an accident.
Bail for Cooper, who comes from the American city of Palmetto, Florida, was set at $26,000.
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Reliford Cooper is seen in a booking photo released by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
