Tiger Woods found himself handcuffed after crashing his SUV in Florida, with body camera footage showing his surprised reaction and deputies discovering two pills in his pocket.
“I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, and you’re under an unknown substance, so at this time you’re under arrest for DUI,” Martin County Sheriff’s deputy Tatiana Levenar told Woods after conducting a sobriety test.
Woods was driving his Land Rover on a residential road on Jupiter Island when he clipped the back of a truck and rolled onto his side. He told officers he’d been looking at his phone and changing the radio station when the crash occurred. No one was injured in the March 27 incident.
“I’m being arrested?” Woods asked, standing alongside the road.
“Yes sir,” Levenar confirmed.
After cuffing Woods, officers searched his pockets and found two white pills.
“That’s a Norco,” Woods explained when an officer pulled them out. Norco is a painkiller containing acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Authorities later confirmed Woods had hydrocodone in his possession.
In the footage, Woods told Levenar he hadn’t consumed any alcohol but had taken “a few” medications earlier that day. His description of some of the drugs is muted in the released video.
Woods, 50, has pleaded not guilty to suspicion of driving under the influence. He’s since posted a statement announcing he’s stepping away indefinitely “to seek treatment and focus on my health.”
During the field sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping with a compression sock over his right knee. He explained he’d undergone seven back surgeries and more than 20 procedures on his right leg, noting his ankle often seizes up while walking.
The report noted Woods was hiccuping during questioning and repeatedly moved his head during one sobriety test, despite officers instructing him multiple times to keep his head straight.
“Based on my observations of Woods, how he performed the exercises and based on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods’ normal faculties were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” Levenar wrote.
What makes this situation particularly notable is Woods’ stature in the sport. He’s golf’s most influential figure and among the world’s most recognizable athletes. As the first person of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997, he’s captivated fans with seemingly unbreakable records throughout his career.
But injuries have limited his achievements in recent years, especially those from his 2021 car crash in Los Angeles that damaged his right leg so severely that doctors considered amputation. He hasn’t played an official event since the 2024 British Open and was recovering from his seventh back surgery in October, hoping to return for the Masters, where he’s a five-time champion.
After the crash, Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but he refused a urine test. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours later.
It’s worth noting that under a change to Florida law last year, refusing an officer’s request for a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor, even for first-time offenders.
