Skip to main content

Drunk 'Darth Vader' Defeated by Cop's Pepper Spray

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on January 08, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

There are a few things about the Sith that every Star Wars fan should know: Darth Vader would not get drunk. Darth Vader also wouldn't be defeated by pepper spray. After all, he controls the power of the force.

Unfortunately, 28-year-old Floridian Michael Eugene Cole isn't actually Darth Vader. He's just a man wearing a Darth Vader mask who tried to assault a police officer.

Cole was walking close to a construction site at around 3 a.m. when he encountered a police officer. The officer told him to leave. Cole didn't. He swore and tried to assault the officer.

Then things got interesting.

The officer used a stun gun but Cole's jacket was too thick. He then used pepper spray, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Cole was finally subdued. He was strapped onto a stretcher and taken to a local hospital.

He was later charged with resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer.

Cole's mother said her son's actions weren't the result of alcohol. She says he was going through a manic episode. She tried to have him involuntarily committed earlier in the week under the Baker Act.

Florida's Baker Act allows both voluntary and involuntary commitment. An individual usually needs pose a threat of harm to others or to themselves in order to be involuntarily committed.

Cole's mother said doctors and police made the assessment that he didn't pose a threat. He was prescribed medication before he was released.

This isn't the first time the drunk "Darth Vader" has landed himself into trouble. His mother says that he was charged with another battery in 2003 during a manic episode. It seems that Luke and the rest of the rebel forces need to take note. Want to take down Darth Vader? Use pepper spray.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard