Fla. Chief Suspended After Allegedly Rear-Ending Sheriff's Vehicle

Lantana Police Chief Jeff Tyson was temporarily relieved of duty Wednesday after his arrest on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly rear-ended an unmarked Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office vehicle.

Tyson, 51, was arrested around 1:30 p.m. after Boca Raton police responded to the accident on North Military Trail between Yamato and Clint Moore roads. He provided breath samples of 0.229 percent and 0.234 percent -- nearly three times the 0.08 percent level at which a driver is legally presumed to be impaired -- during a test done at the police station after the accident.

Crime scene workers combing through Tyson's Ford Explorer found a covered metal coffee cup containing a red liquid that smelled of alcohol. It was placed into evidence.

Attempts to reach Tyson, who has led the 28-officer department since 2010, were unsuccessful.

Cmdr. Sean Scheller has been named acting chief until more details are made available, Lantana Town Manager Michael Bornstein said. "Appropriate action" would then be taken, he said. Asked whether that included the possibility of dismissing Tyson, Bornstein said, "Everything is on the table."

Scheller said Tyson had taken Wednesday off from work and was not on duty at the time of the accident. He declined further comment.

According to the arrest report, the sheriff's deputy said he was traveling north on Military Trail and had stopped at a red light at Spanish River Boulevard when a Ford Explorer bumped the rear of his vehicle.

The driver, later identified as Tyson, changed lanes and continued driving north, the report said. The deputy pulled alongside Tyson's unmarked Lantana police vehicle and turned on his emergency lights. Tyson continued driving north on Military Trail for 1.1 miles until he pulled into the parking lot at Office Depot's national headquarters, the report said.

The deputy told Tyson he had hit his vehicle.

"What do you want. ... I only bumped you," Tyson said, according to the report.

While later speaking to Boca Raton officers, Tyson said: "I tapped him in the (back) ... no big deal," the report said.

The sheriff's deputy and Boca Raton officers reported that they could smell alcohol coming from Tyson as he spoke.

Tyson appeared confused about where he was, even though he said he used to live in Boca Raton, the report said. He told officers at one point that he was on Federal Highway on his way home from a doctor's appointment. He also told police he was in the city visiting his sons, who attend school there.

Tyson declined to submit to field sobriety tests, the report said.

Lantana Mayor David J. Stewart declined comment. Jack Carpenter, 80, a former Lantana fire chief and town council member, said Tyson's arrest surprised him.

Tyson "is a great guy," said Carpenter, who is active with Citizens on Patrol, a nonprofit that assists police. "Whether you are on top or the bottom, you get treated the same way with him."

Staff writers Cynthia Roldan and Bill DiPaolo contributed to this story.

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