ORLANDO, Fla. �� A man who was arrested after police mistook Krispy Kreme doughnut glaze for crystal methamphetamine is suing the city and the drug-testing kit manufacturer.
Daniel Rushing alleges negligence by the city of Orlando and Safariland Group, which produces the drug kits. He's seeking damages of more than $15,000.
Orlando Police Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins pulled Rushing over in December because he was speeding and did not come to a full stop, according to a police report.
During the stop, she spotted a "a rock like substance on the floor" near his feet and asked to search his vehicle, records show.
Riggs-Hopkins used a roadside drug kit produced by Safariland to test the substance twice. Both times it showed it was methamphetamine, police said.
Rushing, who lives in Orlando, was arrested on a drug-possession charge and jailed for about 10 hours.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement tested the substance several weeks later and cleared him.
In the lawsuit, Rushing says Riggs-Hopkins, an eight-year department veteran, is not properly trained to use drug-testing kits.
He also alleges she should have known that doughnut glaze was not meth and should have known the kits can be unreliable. Rushing says the officer should have waited until the state police tested the substance before arresting him.
The city of Orlando would not comment on the pending litigation and no one at Safariland could be reached.
