Man in Darth Vader mask arrested

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The mother of a man arrested for allegedly fighting with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper while wearing a Darth Vader mask said he was in a manic episode.

FHP spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said a trooper approached Michael Eugene Cole, 28, while he was walking at an Orlando construction site around 2:45 a.m. Thursday and asked him to leave, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

Montes said Cole, who was wearing a Darth Vader mask and appeared intoxicated, swore loudly, laid down on the road and attempted to punch and kick the trooper.

The spokeswoman said it took several troopers to subdue Cole, who was taken to Florida Hospital South when he complained of trouble breathing.

Montes said Cole was later booked into the Orange County Jail on felony counts of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law-enforcement officer.

Cole's mother, Doreen Williams, said Cole's actions were spurred by a manic episode, not alcohol. She said she previously attempted to have him checked into a hospital involuntarily under the state's Baker Act, but doctors and police did not deem him to be a threat to himself or others.