A confused police officer thought doughnut glaze was meth in a costly mistake

Despite their reputation for a love of sweet treats, it seems that one cop in Florida doesn't know her doughnuts from her dope.

A man in Florida has been awarded a settlement of $37,500 after he was arrested by police who had mistaken Krispy Kreme crumbs for methamphetamine chunks.

Daniel Rushing, 64, was arrested in December 2015 on drug charges after police found pieces of glazing from the doughnuts on the floor of his vehicle, which to them apparently looked like chunks of crystal methamphetamine.

Two roadside drug tests came back positive, which was a particular shock for Rushing who said that he had never smoked a cigarette before, and had never taken drugs.

Several weeks later, the state crime lab cleared him of the allegations and all charges against him were dropped.

But Rushing decided to take action and sue the City of Orlando after claiming to have lost business as a result of the temporary charges.

Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, Rushing said: "I haven't been able to work. People go online and see that you've been arrested."

The arresting officer, Shelby Riggs-Hopkins said in her report that she had noticed the flakes on Rushing's floorboard when carrying out a search.

The police said that the arrest was lawful, despite the subsequent revelations, but were unsure why the glazing tested positive for the drugs.

Riggs-Hopkins was handed a reprimand for the improper arrest and 730 members of the Orlando Police were forced to undergo training in how to use test kits to prevent a similar case from happening again.