Newly launched physique digital camera footage capturing the moments earlier than and after Tiger Woods was arrested following a rollover crash in Florida affords a extra textured account of the encounter, including new layers to what deputies say led them to conclude he was impaired, whereas additionally surfacing new particulars about his habits after the crash.
Woods struck a trailer whereas driving on Jupiter Island north of Miami on March 27, inflicting his SUV to flip onto its facet, officers say. Woods informed a deputy he didn’t discover the different automobile slowing down as a result of he was taking a look at his telephone and altering the radio station, in line with an arrest affidavit launched Tuesday.
But the footage launched Thursday highlights a collection of small however notable behaviors from his composed demeanor regardless of errors on discipline sobriety exams to sudden remarks, portray a fuller image of what led to his arrest.
Deputy approaches Tiger Woods
Here are some key takeaways primarily based on NCS’s evaluate to date.
The footage, from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office printed by NCS affiliate WPBF, shows Woods — whose authorized first identify is Eldrick —present process a number of discipline sobriety workout routines, the place deputies seem to give attention to a sample of missteps quite than a single failure.
He’s seen struggling to observe directions — shifting his head throughout a imaginative and prescient check when requested to maintain nonetheless after which miscounting throughout a coordination sequence that includes stacking his fists, clapping and counting aloud. A sheriff’s deputy in Martin County later wrote that Woods confirmed sure bodily indicators, together with bloodshot, glassy eyes and “extremely” dilated pupils.
At one level, investigators discover two white tablets in Woods’ pocket, a video shows.
“At this time, I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, OK?” a deputy mentioned whereas putting him in handcuffs. “And you’re under an unknown substance, OK, so at this time you are under arrest for DUI.”
Deputies carry out sobriety exams on Tiger Woods
Woods informed deputies he had not consumed any alcohol however had taken “a few” prescription drugs earlier that day, in line with his arrest affidavit. The white tablets in his pocket have been recognized as hydrocodone, the affidavit mentioned, a prescription opioid and simply addictive drug used to deal with extreme, continual ache and might trigger slowed respiration.
A breath check taken at the Martin County Jail registered 0.000 on each samples, indicating no alcohol was detected on Woods’ breath, the affidavit says. But he refused to undergo a urine check to find out if chemical or managed substances have been in his system.
Taken collectively, these moments type a foundation for the investigators’ conclusion that Woods’ “normal faculties” have been impaired — an evaluation constructed on an accumulation of components, not one decisive error.
Phone use, a mysterious name, and unanswered questions
Newly reviewed physique digital camera video footage printed by WPBF provides a stunning element: Woods is seen strolling alongside the highway after the crash showing to finish a telephone name, and moments later says he had simply been talking with “the president.”
The White House has not responded to NCS’s request for data to find out whether or not any name passed off that day between Woods and President Donald Trump, who later publicly expressed concern and referred to as Woods a “good friend.”
“I feel so badly,” Trump informed reporters Friday. “He’s got some difficulty. There was an accident and that’s all I know.”
The 82-time PGA Tour winner is charged with driving beneath the affect with property injury and refusal to undergo a lawful check — each misdemeanors. Woods was not charged with a phone-related offense.
Woods, who was not injured in the crash, has pleaded not responsible, in line with court docket paperwork.
Woods stays alert beneath questioning
Woods seems composed, from the second he’s confronted by sheriff’s deputies and all through the complete interplay.
In the footage, Woods is seen kneeling subsequent to the roadway, not far from his SUV, which remains to be mendacity on its facet.
“I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden — boom,” Woods calmly informed a deputy, who suggested Woods {that a} medic would “come and check you out.”
He then tells deputies he had not been consuming — in step with the later breath check displaying no alcohol in his system. When requested about the treatment, Woods’ response is usually redacted in the audio and in the affidavit.
Following his arrest, Woods might be seen sitting, with out seen misery, in the backseat of a sheriff cruiser, extra sheriff’s workplace video shared by WPBF shows.
Tiger Woods is positioned in the backseat of a patrol automobile
A touch digital camera captured Woods sarcastically saying “this is fun” after he was arrested. He’s seen on digital camera sweating whereas sitting in the backseat of a patrol automobile, when a deputy asks, “are you cool back there?”, to which he replies “nope.”
The deputy then activates the air conditioner and asks Woods if he can really feel the air from the air conditioner. Woods is seen afterward masking his head and physique with a blanket.
One of the most telling sequences shows Woods seated on the hood of a patrol automobile throughout sobriety testing. The scene captures the moments when deputies transfer from assessing the crash to assessing him. Shortly after, Woods is handcuffed as a deputy tells him he’s beneath arrest for DUI.
In the video, Woods might be seen carrying a blue polo shirt and leaning in opposition to the patrol automobile whereas failing the sobriety exams. At one level, Woods tightly shuts his eyes whereas having to stack his fists, clap, and depend.
While seated in the again of the cruiser, Woods is seen hiccupping and intermittently closing his eyes, at one level leaning again and preserving them shut for a number of seconds earlier than dealing with ahead once more.
Along with the tablets present in his pocket and deputies’ notes of his bloodshot eyes, sweating and hiccuping, these moments provide a fuller image of what deputies famous about Woods’ efficiency and habits that day.
