A Florida police officer has resigned after he crashed into a civilian’s vehicle because he was watching porn while at the wheel, according to an official report.
Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Tristan Macomber initially lied about the cause of the November 6 smash and stated it was because his brakes locked up.
But bodycam footage obtained by TMZ which shows the crash reveals that there was more to the story.
When investigators reviewed the video, they saw that Macomber was holding his phone at the time of the collision.
Under questioning he claimed that he was scrolling through text messages.
‘I was able to observe in the top right of the screen that D/S Macomber was holding what appears to be a cell phone in his right hand,’ an investigator wrote in the report.
Amid further questioning Macomber admitted that he had been using his device to access explicit content, per the report.
The video shows Macomber cruising in his patrol car when all of a sudden he turn the wheel rapidly before there is an impact and the airbag deploys.
Sirens can be heard blaring as he composes himself and lets out a big groan.
‘Son of a b***h,’ he fumes as he steps out of the vehicle and throws his phone onto the drivers’ seat.
‘Gosh darn it. Yep that f**king sucked,’ he sighs as he gathers himself, telling a concern eyewitness that he is ‘good’.
He then approaches the car he hit, which had stopped to let a school bus pass.
‘Hello ma’am, are you okay? I’m so sorry,’ Macomber says to the driver who tells him she is fine. ‘My brakes locked up, you good?’ he adds.
Macomber violated several policies for lying about the incident, using his phone inappropriately and not wearing a seatbelt during the crash.
Investigators said Macomber initially told them he was conversing with a group chat.
However they reviewed the footage and clearly saw images on the phone at the time.
Macomber then said these had been sent within the group chat, but an examination revealed no such pictures or memes were present.
Macomber had been with Lake County Sheriff’s Office since 2021.
He resigned his position as he was facing termination, NBC reports.
