Police Investigating If 3 Off-Duty Officers Were Poisoned At Restaurant

Sanford, FL – Investigators are looking into the possibility that three off-duty Orlando police officers may have been poisoned while visiting several bars and restaurants in downtown Sanford last week.

According to a Winter Springs Police Department (WSPD) report, the three off-duty officers had dinner at the Willow Tree restaurant on Sept. 16, then headed over to Henry’s Depot, WESH reported.

Approximately two weeks earlier, one of the officers got into a verbal argument with a staff member at Henry’s Depot, police said.

The off-duty officers later made their way over to Tuffy’s Bottle Shop before they wrapped up their night at Celery City Craft, WESH reported.

While they were at the last location, one of the officers began feeling ill, and later began sweating profusely, vomiting, and experiencing muscle pain, police said.

The officer was taken to a hospital by ambulance and treated with intravenous fluids, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The other two officers later went home, but they both fell ill shortly thereafter.

One of the officers said that the symptoms came on “all at once out of nowhere,” according to police.

A first responder who assisted the officer said that the victim “exhibited symptoms of someone who may be overdosing,” and noted that the officer was going in and out of consciousness, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

A doctor at the hospital said that the officer seemed to be experiencing effects from “being drugged or poisoned,” possibly with the “date rape drug” Rohypnol, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

One of the officers had to be placed on a ventilator.

Investigators said they are awaiting toxicology reports to determine what may have caused the officers to fall ill.

Orlando Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Adam Krudo said that the two officers who were hospitalized have since been released, and that all three officers have recovered from the incident, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The Stanford Police Department (SPD) took over the investigation after being alerted by the WSPD.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also assisting with the case, WESH reported.

The Orlando Police Department (OPD) refused to comment on the ongoing investigation, according to the Orlando Sentinel.