A Florida man whose Krispy Kreme doughnut crumbs were mistaken for crystal meth by police received a $37,500 check from the City of Orlando this week after settling a lawsuit.
Daniel Rushing sued the city over a 2015 incident, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Police pulled him over for failing to make a full stop before he pulled out of a 7-Eleven. An internal affairs report noted that the store was under surveillance because of recent reports of drug activity there.
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During the arrest, Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins saw “a rock-like substance on the floor board where his feet were,” according to her arrest report. Her field tests determined it was an illegal substance.
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Rushing was taken to jail and booked on possession of methamphetamine with a firearm. He was in jail for 10 hours and posted $2,500 bond. Rushing claimed in a 2016 interview with WFTV that he was “strip-searched.”
Later, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tested the substance and found it was just doughnut sugar. Prosecutors dropped the charges, but Rushing still has the arrest on his record.
“I couldn’t believe it,” the retired Orlando Parks Department worker told the Sentinel. “I’ve never even smoked a cigarette before, let alone meth.”
Rushing said he was pleased with the settlement, but still wants the arrest wiped from his record. He told the Sentinel it has stopped him from starting a security business.
As for his doughnut habit, he still buys them every Wednesday.
