Wayne Woman Coughs On Cop, Says She Has The Coronavirus: Police

WAYNE – A 28-year-old Wayne woman coughed on a police officer and said: “Oh, by the way, I have the coronavirus and so do you now" after she was arrested this week for driving-while-intoxicated, police said.

Lea Piazza was charged in Hanover with creating a false alarm, DWI, careless driving, reckless driving and refusal, police said. Three officers exposed to Piazza were self-quarantined until police found that her comments were "100 percent false."

The incident happened on March 12 when Officer Erick Magley responded to a one-car accident, police said.

During the investigation, Magley detected the odor of an alcohol. Piazza was asked to perform field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested, police said.

During processing, Piazza purposely coughed on Magley. Magley asked her to cover her mouth and refrain from coughing on him because of the concerns over the coronavirus.

That's when Piazza told the officer she has the coronavirus.

Magley advised his supervisor, and more questions were asked in an attempt to gather more information. Piazza said her boyfriend had it and he was from New York, but she would not provide more information, police said.

An investigation into Piazza’s comments was conducted and her comments were proven to be 100 percent false, police said. She would later admit this as well.

She was released pending her court date.