Gainesville, FL : Deputy charged in DUI crash on Friday, December 23rd 2016

An Alachua County sheriff's deputy was arrested early Friday and charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene after causing an accident, according to a Gainesville police arrest report.

Joseph Clayton Sperring, 27, struck a vehicle when he was pulling out of a parking spot and drove away, according to the report. When Sperring turned onto Northwest Fifth Street, occupants of the vehicle Sperring had hit stopped in front of him and began yelling at him.

Witnesses told police Sperring hit the vehicle when he first tried to leave the parking lot; he then backed up and hit the car again before leaving the scene without leaving information for the vehicle's occupants, the report says.

Sperring smelled of alcohol and his eyes were watery and bloodshot, according to the report. Sperring told police he was a deputy sheriff and didn't know he was involved in a crash. He told police he had one alcoholic drink.

Sperring didn't cooperate in the DUI investigation, the report says, and declined to perform field sobriety exercises and to give a breath test. He complained of chest pain and was transported to University of Florida Health Shands Hospital, where he declined to give a blood sample.

The deputy was put on administrative leave and an internal investigation is underway, the sheriff's office reported Friday morning.

Source :
Deputy charged in DUI crash