After Tiger Woods' rollover crash in Florida last week, the golfer told a deputy that he had just gotten off the phone with "the president," according to police body camera video released Thursday.
In body camera video released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy tells Woods to "just hang out here" after the crash, in which his Land Rover clipped a trailer as a truck was turning into a driveway in Jupiter Island.
"Yeah, I was just talking to the president," Woods responds.
In the video, Woods, who has been charged with driving under the influence, holds a phone as he walks away from the deputy. There’s no audio of what Woods was saying, but he could be heard saying "thank you, thank you" before he ended the call.
It is not immediately clear whether he was referring to President Donald Trump. Last week, Trump told the New York Post that he spoke with Woods after the incident, saying he was "doing good" but "lives a life of pain."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Woods was arrested Friday after the crash, which caused his SUV to flip. He pleaded not guilty this week.
An incident report said the truck sustained about $5,000 in damage to the rear left fender and the trailer's wheel.
No one was injured.
In one video, Woods kneels by the road, speaking with a deputy.
"I looked down at my phone and all of a sudden, boom," he says.
His SUV is still on its side in the video. The deputy tells Woods that a medic will come and examine him.
In another video, he says he was looking at his phone to change the radio station when he hit the other vehicle. He said he was coming from his home at the time.
According to an incident report released by the sheriff's office, Woods said he did not realize the truck had slowed. The report said the deputy "observed several signs of impairment" and requested that another deputy conduct a DUI investigation.
According to the report, Woods had "bloodshot and glassy" eyes, his pupils were "extremely dilated," and his movements appeared to be "lethargic and slow." The report said Woods struggled to perform the field sobriety tests and was "limping and stumbling to the right" during one exercise. Woods told the deputy that he had had multiple operations on his back and leg and that his ankle seizes when he walks, according to the report.
In one body camera video, a deputy asks, "How much have you had to drink today?" Woods responds: "None." He did, however, say he had Motrin, ibuprofen and other medications that were redacted.
The clip showed Woods complete several field sobriety tests while hiccuping. At the end, he was asked to put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed.
“So at this time, I do believe your normal faculties are impaired and you’re under an unknown substance. So at this time, you’re under arrest for DUI,” the deputy who conducted the exercises says.
"I’m getting arrested?" Woods asks.
"Yes, sir," the deputy says.
Woods' pockets were searched, and two pills were found and placed in a plastic bag. Woods was then put in the back seat of a deputy's vehicle.
Authorities found hydrocodone pills in Woods’ pocket, the incident report said. Hydrocodone is used to treat pain.
In another video, Woods hiccups as he sits in the back of the squad car.
“Well, this is fun,” he says.
“Are you cool back there?” the deputy asks.
“Nope,” Woods responds, before he asks how long he’ll have to be at the jail. At the jail, the sheriff’s office said, Woods took a breath test but refused a urine test.
Even during the arrest, Woods’ status as one of the most acclaimed professional golfers preceded him.
In the footage, before Woods took the sobriety test, a deputy asks Woods, “Is that putter just one, one that you take it with your career or what?” Woods replies, “I’ve won 14 majors with it.”
“Oh with that putter. Wow,” the deputy says, adding, “They don’t call you the GOAT for nothing, man.”
The deputy later asks, “Are you golfing in the Masters this year?”
Woods replies, “Hoping to.” A man who appears to be his security chimes in with, “Depends on y’all” to a round of laughter.
Later in the footage, the window above Woods’ SUV trunk is broken and his clubs are removed to hand off to his manager.
One deputy asks to see a club and says, “This piece of history right there.”
On Tuesday, he waived an arraignment and pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a lawful urine test, according to a notice his attorney filed in court.
Woods was also charged Thursday with a civil traffic citation for careless driving resulting in a crash in connection with the Friday crash. The civil penalty is a $163 fee, according to court documents.
In a brief statement on social media, Woods said he would seek treatment outside the U.S.
"I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger, and more focused place, both personally and professionally," he said.
