Tiger confused, stumbling on cop video

Jupiter (Florida, USA), June 1: His speech slow and slurred, Tiger Woods couldn’t follow simple instructions or keep his balance during a dazed and disoriented encounter with police before he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The video images came from dashcam footage that Jupiter police released on Wednesday night, and they show Woods with little capacity to stand still without swaying, repeat simple instruction or put one foot in front of the other.

The footage came from his arrest on Monday in the dark of early morning when Jupiter police noticed his Mercedes parked on the side of a sixlane road, part of it in the road and part of it in the bicycle lane.

Police found the Woods sound asleep behind the wheel, according to an incident report. The engine was running, the brake lights were on and the right turn signal was blinking. Police also released photos of his car that showed both tyres flat and minor damage around the bumpers.

Woods told police he was taking prescription medicine. When asked what kind, he gave an answer that was redacted from the videotape. The arrest affidavit listed four medications that Woods reported taking.

The video brings to life the troubling images contained in an incident report from the four police officers who were at the scene.

His speech is slurred from his first words. When the officer points out that Woods’ shoe is untied, Woods places his right foot on the front of the police car and starts to fiddle with the laces. “It’s your other shoe that’s untied,” the officer says as Woods unties the laces. “Now that one is, too,” the officer adds. When Woods is unable to tie the left shoe, the officer tells him he can take them off.

The field sobriety test was a failure from the start.

Woods couldn’t follow a red light the officer moved from side to side. He also couldn’t raise one leg 6 inches off the ground.

Woods then struggles to walk in a straight line, stumbles as he is asked to stand and touch his nose, and is also confused by requests to recite the alphabet. “You are going to recite the entire English alphabet in a slow, non-rhythmic manner, meaning you’re not going to sing it, OK? Do you understand the instructions?” the policeman says. Woods replies: “I do.”

“What were the instructions?” the officer asks. Woods answers: “Not to sing the national anthem backwards.”

The next instruction from the officer was to place his hands behind his back as they cuffed him and told him he was being arrested.

—AP