He was focused on spiked drinks, not spike strips.
A Florida man being chased by cops offered the officers a drink as he sped past, according to body-camera video shared Monday.
Richard Christopher Smith, 39, stole several items from a liquor store Saturday and then took off in a black minivan, the Highlands County sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
During the ensuing chase, one officer yelled at Smith to stop, and he responded by holding a can out of an open window and saying, “I was just gonna give you a drink, that’s it.”
“It was during this pursuit when Smith held a can of Ketel One vodka spritz out the window,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “We don’t know if he was expecting us to just say ‘Cheers!’ and let him go, or what.”
The chase lasted for several miles until cops disabled Smith’s vehicle using spike strips. He was nabbed in Sebring, about 70 miles south of Orlando.
When the chase ended, Smith was seen stepping out of his car and walking casually while lighting up a cigarette as several officers ordered him to get on the ground. One officer’s patience ran out, and he used a Taser on Smith.
“What am I under arrest for?” Smith later asked the cops, who told him, “A lot of stupid s–t.”
“You guys had fun though, right?” Smith responded.
Smith was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on police, battery on a law enforcement officer, DUI and two counts of resisting arrest. Cops said he attempted to ram two police cruisers during the chase.
