Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and possession of cocaine in Arizona, police said today.
Sgt. Larry Hall of the Buckeye Police Department said Tyson was arrested early this morning in Scottsdale, 10 miles (16 km) east of Phoenix, Arizona, after he nearly struck another vehicle as he left the the driveway of a private home.
"The vehicle he almost struck was actually a sheriff's vehicle," Hall said. "He's been charged with DUI drugs and possession of a controlled substance, cocaine. It was found on him and in his car."
Tyson was being held in a Phoenix jail and is due to appear in court today, police said.
"He will probably see the judge later this morning and either be released or post bond," Hall said.
The 40-year-old boxer known as "Iron Mike" became Heavyweight Champion of the World when he was 21, but was later banned from fighting for a year and fined $2.85 million after he bit off part of an opponent's ear during a match in 1997.
"(Tyson) was actually very cooperative, very calm, and just acted like a complete gentleman," Hall said.
The police officer who arrested Tyson was from Buckeye, 35 miles (56 km) west of Phoenix, and had been working in Scottsdale on a DUI task force, Hall said.
Tyson, who has a long history of legal troubles, was convicted in 1992 for the rape of a beauty pageant queen in an Indianapolis hotel room.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and released in 1995 after serving three years.
Tyson retired from boxing last year after losing to journeyman Kevin McBride in Washington, D.C. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Tyson left the ring with a 50-6 record with 44 knockouts.