School staff stops Bud Light-drinking, âdrunk out of his mindâ Florida dad from picking up kids

A dad waiting in the pickup line at a Florida elementary school was denied access to his kids after school staff realized he was “drunk out of his mind,” according to investigators.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says the 48-year-old father was driving with his blood alcohol concentration four times the legal limit.

It happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at Valleyview Elementary School in Lakeland, and suspicions were aroused when the unaccompanied man appeared to be drinking a can of Bud Light in his car, officials said. Lakeland is about 35 miles northeast of Tampa.

“I love my teachers and my school staff, and they showed themselves to be heroes once again,” Judd said in a video posted Dec. 15 on Facebook.

“They wouldn’t release the children to him because he was so drunk, he couldn’t hit the ground with his hat. They notified the sheriff’s office. We found him sitting in the car in the parking lot, with open containers.”

A Polk County deputy conducted a field sobriety test in the parking lot, and it was discovered the man was also driving with a suspended license, officials said.

The man failed every task in the sobriety test and was arrested, officials said. He was charged with driving under the influence with breath-alcohol level of 0.15 or higher and driving with a suspended license.

“The children went home with their mother, who was sober,” Judd said.

Valleyview Elementary has about 800 students in pre-kindergarten through grade five, according to USnews.com.