Correction on Nancy Smith's Cary Pigman Column

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department did no special favors for Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, during his March 24 DUI arrest, Sheriff's Information Officer Bryan Beaty said Tuesday.

Beaty said my Tuesday opinion column, "Where Is Cary Pigman's Disciplinary Action?" was off the mark on three counts:

• Pigman’s booking photo wasn't removed early, as appeared in earlier stories. It was available on the department's website for 48 hours. "As is standard with all arrests, once the individual bonds out, their photo is removed from the site after 48 hours," said Beaty.
• Pigman was stopped on the side of Florida's Turnpike at midnight, according to the Florida Highway Patrol arrest report (shown in the attachment below). Beaty said Florida Statutes require jails to hold DUI arrests for a minimum of eight hours. Though it's true that he wasn't behind bars for the whole of the eight hours, technically, the eight-hour clock starts ticking "as soon as he's in cuffs." Said Beaty, "Pigman was released from our jail after making bail at 8:15 a.m. -- eight hours and 15 minutes after his arrest.
• The representative got no discount on his bond. "The bond amount given to Rep. Pigman ($750) is set by the 19th Judicial Circuit, not by the Sheriff’s Office and is standard for all DUI arrests."

I fully accept Beaty's account. 

Disciplinary action against Pigman is still missing in the Florida House -- the point of the column still stands. But I apologize to Sheriff Ken Mascara and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department, and our readers, for mischaracterizing the arrest.