Man Assaulted and Busted By Cop For Possession of Breath Mints?

Man Serves Three Months in Jail for Possession of Certs

**Mugshot May not be the real May.

August 19, 2009

So this dude is driving down the street, on the way to pick up his girlfriend when the cops pull him over. He's thinking, "Yeah, I've got expired tags, I've been meaning to take care of that."

So he's all prepared for a ticket, hopefully only a warning. He rolls down the window to greet the officer with a cheerful smile and minty fresh breath from the breath mint he popped before meeting his girl. However, he gets a surprise when the cop demands to know what he has in his mouth. He pops out his tongue to display his Certs which the cop promptly grabs, bags and tags. The next thing he knows he's arrested, taken to jail and charged for possession of crack cocaine and for tampering with evidence by trying to eat it.

Next, Donald May, the alleged perp, finds himself languishing in a Florida jail for 3 months while the cops try to tell the difference between a Certs breath mint and a crack rock:

May had been stopped for the expired tag on his car. When the officer walked up to him, he noticed something white in May’s mouth. May said it was breath mints, but the officer thought it was crack cocaine.

The arresting officer claimed he field-tested the evidence and it tested positive for drugs. The officer said he saw May buying drugs while he was stopped at an intersection. He also stated in his report May waived his Miranda rights and voluntarily admitted to buying drugs.

May said that never happened. “My client never admitted he purchased crack cocaine. Why would he say that?” attorney Adam Sudbury said.

May was thrown in jail and was unable to bond out for three months. He didn’t get out until he received a letter from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office that test results showed no drugs were found.

While he was in jail, the cops towed his car and auctioned it off. He also lost his job, was evicted from his apartment, and dumped by his girlfriend.

Now May is suing the city for false arrest and false imprisonment. He might also sue the cop for assault. He wants to be compensated for the loss of his car and job. No mention was made of the lost girlfriend in his claim for damages.