WINDERMERE, Fla. (WESH) — Former Major League Baseball player Johnny Damon and his wife were both arrested early Friday in Windermere after a traffic stop.
Damon was charged with driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, Orange County Jail records show.
Damon’s wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, was arrested as well and charged with resisting an officer with violence and battery of a law enforcement officer.
Damon was pulled over around 1:30 a.m. by Windermere police near an entrance to the Isleworth community after an officer said he was seen swerving on Conroy Windermere Road, before striking a curb and a guardrail.
In an arrest report, the officer wrote that Damon was asked how much he’d been drinking and said “just a little bit,” while making a small pinching motion with his fingers.
The arrest report said Damon was “extremely unsteady on his feet” and his speech was “extremely slurred.”
While police were speaking with Damon, they said his wife got out of the car, despite officers’ orders to stay inside. When the officer tried to push her against the car Mangan-Damon turned around and pushed the officer. As she did this, police said Damon stepped between them and a fight ensued.
During the struggle, Mangan-Damon broke away and walked toward the community guardhouse near where the stop occurred. A second officer on the scene took her into custody.
The report said the officer then asked Damon if he would perform a field sobriety test, to which Damon said multiple times that he would because he is “a big boy.”
Police said that after Damon had been arrested he consented to taking a breathalyzer test. The first time he blew a .300, and the second time he blew a .294. That is nearly four times the legal limit in the state of Florida.
Damon was a baseball standout at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando and went on to play in the major leagues for seven different teams. He was a key member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series championship team.
