Tiger Woods found himself in an unexpected situation when he was handcuffed following a car crash in Florida last week. Newly released body camera footage from Thursday shows deputies recovering two pills from the golf legend’s pocket during the incident.
Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar informed Woods, “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,” after administering a sobriety test.
Woods explained that he had been distracted by looking at his phone and changing the radio station when his speeding Land Rover collided with the back of a truck and overturned on a residential street in Jupiter Island. Fortunately, the March 27 crash resulted in no injuries.
Upon hearing the news of his arrest, Woods, standing by the roadside, asked in surprise, “I’m being arrested?”
“Yes sir,” Deputy Levenar confirmed.
Following the handcuffing, officers searched Woods and discovered two white pills in his pockets.
“That’s a Norco,” Woods said after an officer pulled out the pills, referring to a painkiller that contains acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Authorities would later confirm that Woods was in possession of hydrocodone.
In the bodycam footage, Woods told Levenar that he had not drunk any alcohol and that he had taken “a few” medications earlier in the day, though Woods’ words are muted in the released video as he describes some of the drugs.
Woods, 50, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to suspicion of driving under the influence. He posted a statement Tuesday night saying that he was stepping away indefinitely “to seek treatment and focus on my health.”
During a field sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping and that he had a compression sock over his right knee. Woods explained he had undergone seven back surgeries and over 20 surgeries on his right leg, and that his ankle seizes up while walking.
Woods, who was hiccuping during questioning, continuously moved his head during one of the sobriety tests and deputies had to tell him several times to keep his head straight, the report said.
“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 later wrote.
Woods is the most influential figure in golf and has become as recognizable as any athlete in the world. The first person of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997, he has captivated golf fans with records likely never to be broken.
But his injuries have kept him from accomplishing more, including those suffered in the 2021 car crash in Los Angeles that damaged his right leg so badly he said doctors considered amputation. He has not played an official event since the 2024 British Open. He was recovering from a seventh back surgery in October and was trying to return at the Masters, where he is a five-time champion.
Following last week’s crash, Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but he refused a urine test, authorities said. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours later.
Under a change to Florida law last year, refusing an officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor, even for a first offense.
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