An officer falsely accused a Georgia Southern quarterback of being in possession of cocaine. What the police officer was actually seeing was bird poop.
The incident happened July 31, when Shai Werts was pulled over in Clinton, South Carolina for allegedly speeding. During the traffic stop officers put Werts, 21, in the back of their patrol car while they searched his vehicle. In the video obtained by WSAV-TV, the officers then shined a flashlight on the hood of his car where they find a white substance.
An officer then asked Werts, “What’s the white stuff on the front of your hood, man?” Werts quickly responded, “Bird shit.” The Officer then continued to insists that it wasn’t bird poop and claimed the substance tested positive as a control substance. “I swear to God it’s not [bird poo],” the officer said, “because I just tested it, and that turned pink.”
The officer then explicitly says, “It tested positive for cocaine.” Afterwards, Werts was arrested and charged with misdemeanor cocaine possession and speeding, suspending him from GSU team activities. But TMZ reports that prosecutors announced Thursday they would be dismissing the charges because the substance was not cocaine.
“On August 8, 2019, SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] received the substance and completed the drug analysis,” the statement said. “The forensic scientist determined that no controlled substance was detected.”
“The Solicitor’s Office has begun the expungement process to have this charge removed from the system to ensure that this arrest and charge does not create a criminal history for Werts.” Werz will be returning his team where he is expected to open the season Aug. 31.