When a police chief wrecks his city-issued SUV at nearly midnight and officers find a partially consumed bottle of Ketel One in the wreckage, the story tells itself. That’s essentially what happened in Titusville, Florida, where a late-night single-vehicle crash has ended the career of a man who spent more than three decades with the department he used to lead.
Former Titusville Police Chief John Lau was behind the wheel of his city-owned police SUV around 11:17 p.m. on Tuesday when the vehicle left the road and rolled over multiple times along Barna Avenue and River Oaks Drive in unincorporated Brevard County. The 60-year-old was taken to Parrish Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries — which, given the nature of a rollover, is the first thing worth noting.
The vehicle involved was an unmarked 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe — a full-size police-spec SUV that’s no stranger to tough conditions. What it apparently wasn’t prepared for that night was making it through an intersection and staying upright. A neighbor named Craig Varnadore heard the crash from inside his home, called 911, and walked out to find the vehicle on its side.
What happened next is where this story takes a turn that no amount of body panel repair can fix. Officers at the scene noted they could hear a slight slur in Lau’s speech and observed that he had bloodshot eyes. Inside the patrol vehicle, they discovered a bottle of Ketel One vodka — partially consumed — along with a metal cup that smelled of alcohol.
Officers documented and photographed the items specifically because Florida Highway Patrol troopers hadn’t done so at the scene.
The Test He Wouldn’t Take
Lau refused to submit to an alcohol test following the crash, which violated the city’s personnel policy — and that refusal cost him his job. The city fired him the following morning after a preliminary administrative review.
It’s worth pointing out that refusing a test after an on-duty crash in a city vehicle isn’t a gray area for any employee, let alone the person who ran the department.
Thirty-Plus Years, Gone in One Night
Lau joined the Titusville Police Department in 1992 as a patrol officer and was promoted to chief in 2013. That’s a long career by any measure — more than three decades of service that ended not with a retirement party but with a termination letter and a body camera video of officers sniffing a vodka bottle to confirm what it was.
Titusville Mayor Andrew Connors acknowledged the situation with measured words, thanking Lau for his years of service while expressing respect for how the process played out. Deputy Chief Tyler Wright has been named Interim Chief while the city searches for a permanent replacement.
Investigation Still Open
Florida Highway Patrol is handling the crash investigation, and as of the latest reports, no charges have been filed against Lau. Questions remain about why FHP troopers did not initially photograph the alcohol containers at the scene — something local officers stepped in to document themselves to ensure transparency.
For now, a 2026 Chevy Tahoe is presumably in a repair yard somewhere, a vodka bottle has been poured out on a roadside in Brevard County, and Titusville is looking for a new police chief. The FHP investigation continues.