Officer Accused Of Driving Under Influence After Crash In Riverview

RIVERVIEW, FL — A Plant City police officer has been suspended after police said he was arrested for driving under the influence on Christmas Eve.

According to Plant City police, at 5:07 p.m. Saturday, Gregory Nelson was involved in a single-vehicle crash in his Plant City police patrol car at Riverview Drive and Van Fleet Road on his way to an extra-duty assignment.

Police said the patrol car veered off the road into a ditch. Nelsen was uninjured in the crash.

When the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office responded to the accident, deputies determined said he appeared intoxicated and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said.

Nelson had been a Plant City police officer with PCPD since October 2019. He will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"There is no excuse for anyone, let alone a police officer, to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated," said Plant City Police Chief James Bradford. "Due to his actions, he must face the consequences of the decision he made. We are thankful that no citizen or the officer were hurt as a result of this incident."