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Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.
PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Carrie Horstman, Brian Bruchey, and Julianna Rivera. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.
The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.
Jan 28, 2026
Substitute teacher in Lake Alfred arrested at school for DUI
Media Contact: Brian Bruchey
A substitute teacher was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Tuesday morning, January 27, 2026 while in a school parking lot.
At around 10:29 am on Tuesday, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy who is assigned to Lake Alfred Polytech (925 N. Buena Vista Drive, Lake Alfred) as a school resource officer, as he was attempting to back out of his parking space.
The substitute teacher was identified as 44-year old Micah Alan Dyal of Haines City.
A Field Sobriety Test was administered to Dyal, and he showed multiple obvious signs of impairment, including the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath.
Micah Dyal was subsequently arrested and transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center where he was charged with DUI.
Dyal consented to a blood draw, and the sample will be submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing to determine blood-alcohol content and/or drug use.
“This substitute teacher was drunker than Cooter Brown at school while he was supposed to be teaching our children. We gave him an education when we took him to jail.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Polk County Public Schools provided the following statement:
“We commend our school staff for noticing that something was off, and not allowing this individual to proceed to the classroom yesterday. What a terrible decision and unacceptable behavior from someone working on a campus. This person will no longer have any involvement with PCPS.”