Expand / Collapse search
☰

Ex-Florida deputy arrested for DUI after motorcycle crash leads to serious injuries: sheriff

By Dani Medina
Published  September 21, 2023 5:49pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 35 Orlando

Stream FOX 35 News:

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - A former Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy was arrested Thursday for allegedly driving while under the influence, seriously injuring the female passenger on his motorcycle, according to officials. 

Michael Brian Richards was arrested Thursday and is charged with DUI with serious bodily injury and DUI, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Richards, 46, resigned from the sheriff's office at the time of his arrest. PCSO said he would have been terminated if he hadn't resigned. 

The incident happened July 27 on US-92 near the Winter Haven airport, officials said. Richards, who was off duty at the time, was riding on his 2017 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a 41-year-old female passenger, deputies said. 

Deputies said Richards left the street onto the shoulder, causing him to lose control of the motorcycle as it slid across the grass shoulder and onto the roadway. The motorcycle was traveling between 65 and 80 mph in the 55 mph zone, deputies said, citing evidence at the scene. 

Photo: Polk County Sheriff's Office

Richards and the passenger were both ejected and they were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident, according to a press release. They both sustained serious injuries and were transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Health Center. 

Since the accident, Richards has been taking physical therapy and has not worked. The female passenger remains in the hospital with serious injuries, including a brain injury, deputies said. 

Blood was drawn at the hospital after deputies obtained a search warrant, revealing Richards had a blood alcohol level of 0.14 at the time of the crash, nearly twice the legal limit. 

"I tell every single deputy here when they are hired that if they drink and drive they will go to jail, and they will lose their job," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. "That’s what happened here. Our sympathies and prayers are with the female victim of this avoidable crash and with her family. I am so disgusted by Richards’ actions—of all people, he should have known better than to drink and drive and put people’s lives at risk. We will work with the State Attorney’s office to ensure that he is held accountable."

RELATED NEWS:

Richards was first employed by the Polk County Sheriff's Office as a deputy sheriff trainee in April 2011. He became a deputy sheriff in August 2011. Most recently, he was a general crimes detective.