Florida Man Cracks Busch Light Bottle Over His Head, Gets Shot By Cop Who Thought It Was A Gunshot

Beer me!

A Florida man was shot by a cop Saturday after he cracked a cold one over his head, causing the deputy to think he was being shot at, the Polk County Sheriff's Office reports.

Deputies were trying to arrest 27-year-old Matthew Correa for several crimes, including armed robbery, when their suspect (allegedly) stood up through the sunroof of a truck he was riding in with one hand on a rifle and a Busch Light bottle in the other.

The sheriff's office says Correa then cracked the bottle over his head. That move got Correa shot.

“The sergeant who was behind Correa and unable to see the bottle, heard the popping noise and believed Correa had shot at his deputies,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release as reported on by the Tampa Bay Times. “The sergeant fired one shot at Correa, striking him in the neck.”

Police say Correa and a woman went on a crime spree Saturday morning that ultimately led to the Busch Light over the head incident. First up, the couple was accused of stealing a Toyota truck at a grocery store before the couple went to a tire store where Correa, looking for money, pulled a rifle on an employee.

Eventually, police surrounded Correa, who had dumped the woman at some point during their morning rampage, and the Busch Light bottle incident occurred.

“He then dropped from the sunroof out of sight for a moment, then stood up with a rifle in one hand, and a Busch Light beer bottle in the other, which he smashed against his forehead, breaking the bottle,” the sheriff's department stated in a news release.

Thinking it was a gunshot, a sergeant fired a single bullet into Correa's neck, though the injury is not expected to be life-threatening.

“Matthew is a bad guy, a real bad guy,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference. “He has three previous felonies, one of them a home invasion burglary.”

And he has no regard for Busch Light bottles.

Lock him up and throw away the key.

Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.