RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — An off-duty Riviera Beach police officer was arrested early Monday after deputies say he drove the wrong way on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road while under the influence of alcohol.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded around 2 a.m. to a report of a reckless driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes near Okeechobee Boulevard and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
Deputies located Mikhail Jermaine Hanson seated in a BMW stopped in the wrong lanes of travel. Investigators said Hanson initially ignored repeated commands to exit the vehicle and shut off the engine before eventually complying.
While being detained, Hanson allegedly told deputies:
"We are on the same team. I work for Riviera Beach Police Department Road Patrol."
Deputies reported finding an open bottle of Hennessy inside the vehicle, along with multiple loaded firearm magazines.
A DUI investigator noted Hanson had watery eyes, an odor of alcohol, and admitted he had been drinking Patron tequila at a party in the Loxahatchee area, though he could not say how much he consumed. Investigators said he appeared confused about his direction of travel and insisted he was headed the correct way despite driving opposite traffic.
Because deputies said Hanson had resisted commands during the stop, field sobriety exercises were not conducted outside the patrol vehicle. Instead, investigators performed a modified eye examination before determining there was probable cause to arrest him.
Breath tests later measured Hanson's blood alcohol concentration at 0.216 and 0.222 — nearly 3 times Florida's legal limit of 0.08.
Hanson was charged with:
- Driving under the influence
- Failure to obey a lawful order from law enforcement
- Resisting an officer without violence
He was issued a notice to appear in Palm Beach County court on Aug. 20.
