Suspected drunk driver who led police on high-speed chase told officers his dog was driving

A Florida man was arrested for DUI on Wednesday evening after he drove into two ditches, hid in a church bathroom, and told police officers that his dog had been driving the car. According to a police report, officers began chasing a car driven by Reliford Cooper III after the vehicle was spotted speeding at around 7:45pm.



With police in pursuit, Cooper, 26, raced through a stop sign and drove through two ditches before crashing into an occupied home on a street in Palmetto, a city 15 miles north of Sarasota. Cooper, a Palmetto resident, bolted from the car and sought to hide in the bathroom of a nearby Pentecostal church, but he was chased out by parishioners (and into the arms of police).

Cooper, who smelled of alcohol and marijuana, asked officers, “Who was chasing me?” He added, “You slow as f*ck!” But Cooper then disavowed being at the wheel, claiming: “My dog was driving that car, I ran cause I wanted to. You ain’t gonna find no drugs or guns on me.”



Cooper has previously served nearly five years in a Florida state prison following his conviction on armed robbery, burglary, and grand theft charges. Since his release from custody in mid-2013, he has twice been arrested for aggravated assault. Cooper, who told officer he works at a car wash, was charged with drunk driving, resisting arrest, and leaving the scene of an accident. He is currently locked up in lieu of $26,120 bond.