This browser does not support the Video element.
Fired Titusville police chief cited after rollover crash, council member says
A fired Titusville police chief who was not criminally charged after a rollover crash last month has now been cited for careless driving, according to a Titusville city council member.
Fired Titusville Police Chief John Lau has received a second citation from the Florida Highway Patrol in connection to his June 23 rollover crash, according to online records.
Records show FHP cited Lau with an open container violation, which carries a $169 fine.
Lau was previously cited for careless driving, to which he has pleaded not guilty and requested a traffic hearing to contest the charge, records show.
The fine for careless driving is $169, FHP told FOX 35.
Lau was fired as Titusville Police Chief after the crash because he declined to submit to an alcohol or substance abuse test, which was a violation of his employment agreement with the City of Titusville.
Citation: $35,000 in property damage
According to the most recent charge – the open container charge – the June 23 crash resulted in $35,000 in property damage.
It does not elaborate further. However, Chief Lau was in a city-owned vehicle when the crash happened, both the city and FHP have previously confirmed to FOX 35.
Both FHP citations were issued weeks after the crash.
Titusville Police: Closed, ‘partially consumed,’ bottle of vodka found in Chief's vehicle after crash
The backstory:
On June 23 around 11:17 p.m., then-Titusville Police Chief John Luo was involved in a rollover crash in his city-owned vehicle in Titusville. Officials said the chief's vehicle left the roadway, rolled several times, and landed on its side on the side of the road. Lau was pulled from the vehicle, loaded onto a stretcher, and taken to the hospital.
Titusville police officers were first on scene and reported seeing a partially-consumed bottle of vodka in the chief's truck as well as a metal cup that apparently smelled like alcohol, according to their summary reports.
Those officers also noted the smell of what they believed to be alcohol on the chief's breath and slightly slurred speech, though it was not clear if that was due to alcohol or the impact from the crash, the reports said.
At the hospital, Chief Lau refused to submit to a drug or alcohol test in violation of his employment contract, which led to his termination the next day, the city said.
To avoid a potential conflict of interest, Titusville police asked FHP to investigate the crash.
FHP investigated the crash and closed its investigation without issuing any citations at the time nor conducting a DUI investigation.
FHP later said there was no probable cause to launch a DUI investigation because by the time the trooper made it to the hospital – more than an hour after the crash – Lau showed no obvious signs or symptoms of potential impairment.
A FHP spokesperson added that traveling with alcohol inside a vehicle is not legally sufficient to open a DUI investigation.
Where is the crash report?
Typically, FHP crash reports are released 10 days after a crash, FHP told FOX 35.
However, weeks later, FHP has not yet released the report into Chief Lau's crash.
FOX 35 has filed a public records request with FHP to obtain that crash report. However, it has yet to be released.
The Source: The information is from court records filed with the Brevard County Clerk of Court.