Ex-Titusville Police Chief contesting $169 careless driving ticket after rollover crash
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.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Former Titusville Police Chief John Lau, who was fired from the City of Titusville after refusing to submit to an alcohol or drug test following a June rollover crash in a city-owned vehicle in Titusville, plans to contest his $169 careless driving citation, according to court records.
Through his attorney, Lau entered a plea of not guilty to the careless driving citation and requested a traffic infraction hearing. That hearing has been scheduled for September 17, according to online court records.
FOX 35 reached out to Lau's attorneys late Friday afternoon for comment.
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.
911 calls detail aftermath of crash involving former Titusville police chief
Newly released 911 recordings provide new details about the rollover crash involving former Titusville Police Chief John Lau, who was fired after the single-vehicle wreck but has not been charged with a crime or cited for a traffic violation.
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.
Where is the crash report?
Typically, FHP crash reports are released 10 days after the crash, which is also the length of time that a trooper can decide to issue a citation, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 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 used in this story is from the Titusville Police Department,