ORLANDO, Fla. – An off-duty Haines City police officer arrested on suspicion of driving drunk in his marked patrol car had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, records obtained by News 6 show.
Joseph Everett, 29, was arrested Saturday afternoon after the Orlando Police Department received multiple calls about a marked Haines City police vehicle driving recklessly downtown and travelling the wrong way down one-way streets, court records indicate.
Video posted on social media shows the police car driving into oncoming traffic near City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts before officers with the Orlando Police Department stopped it.
An open container of Four Loko, an alcoholic beverage, was in plain view in the passenger compartment, an arresting officer wrote in a report.
Investigators said Everett, who was not wearing his Haines City police uniform or insignia, smelled strongly of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. He allegedly stumbled and lost his footing while trying to stand up.
Everett told police he was on his way to see his children in Orlando, his arrest report shows.
When Everett asked an Orlando police officer to unlock his cell phone so he could call his wife, Everett repeatedly provided seven digits for a six-digit passcode, records indicate.
After Everett declined to participate in field sobriety exercises, officers arrested him and transported him to the Orange County DUI Testing Center where he was given breath tests.
The first test, administered approximately one hour after the traffic stop, indicated Everett’s blood alcohol content was 0.266%, court records show. That is more than three times the limit of 0.08% to legally drive in Florida.
A second breath test given minutes later indicated BAC of 0.265%, records indicate.
Everett was hired by the Haines City Police Department about three months ago, the agency said.
He previously worked as a deputy sheriff in Polk County.
Everett resigned from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in 2024 after admitting to drinking “about three coffee mugs of whiskey” the prior evening and then allegedly showing up to work intoxicated, according to WTSP-TV.
Deputies arrested Everett for DUI since they said he had driven his marked patrol vehicle while on duty, records show, but prosecutors later dropped the misdemeanor charge.
“I am deeply concerned and disappointed by the reported actions of former Officer Everett, particularly given that the Haines City Police Department provided him with a second opportunity to serve in law enforcement following his prior separation from another agency,” Haines City Police Chief Isaac Jackson said in a statement. “This situation underscores the importance of maintaining the highest standards of conduct, accountability, and professionalism within our profession.”
Everett was terminated from the Haines City Police Department while he was still incarcerated in the Orange County jail. He was later released from custody on a $1,500 bond.
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