Pinellas deputy fired after DUI arrest

A Pinellas deputy has been fired after he was arrested for drunken driving Saturday night, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher Cook, 33, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol on one count of driving under the influence after he sideswiped a car on I-275 near Fletcher Avenue, the sheriff’s office said. There were no injuries from the collision.

Cook “performed poorly” on field sobriety tests, had a hard time describing what led up to the accident and showed other signs of impairment, including slurred speech, breath that smelled like alcohol and glossy eyes, the sheriff’s office said. Cook was taken to the Orient Road Jail, where he refused a Breathalyzer test.

Cook was hired at the sheriff’s office in 2014 and worked in the Patrol Operations Bureau. He was fired immediately, per Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office policy.