Florida man trolled with classic GTA graphic after getting busted by cops

A sheriff’s office in Florida has been going a little viral after using an iconic Grand Theft Auto graphic in a video where they arrested someone.

Even though Grand Theft Auto is about living the high life as a criminal, getting caught by the in-game cops doesn’t matter that much. Sure, you might lose some weapons and a heap of cash, but you can easily get them back.

The ‘busted’ animation from Grand Theft Auto V has been a staple in meme culture for the past decade. 

You’ll find it on videos of people falling over, pets trying to steal their food a little earlier than normal, and pretty much every other embarrassing mistake in between. 

Florida sheriff goes viral with GTA ‘busted’ graphic mocking criminal

Well, sheriff’s offices in the United States have also been using it as a way to warn criminals that, not only will they be arrested, but they’ll also be humiliated online when they’ve been caught as well. 

The latest of which comes from St. Lucie County, Florida, just north of the real-life version of Vice City. Sheriff Keith Pearson posted a video after stopping joyriders who, while using a stolen vehicle, were leading officers on a high-speed chase. 

After walking viewers through the arrest, Pearson concludes the video with the classic ‘Busted’ graphics and sounds from Grand Theft Auto.

The video has since gone viral across X, formerly known as Twitter, and TikTok. It has racked up almost 6 million views on Pearson’s TikTok account. And, naturally, viewers flooded the comments about the GTA references. 

“Stop. The Busted at the end got me!” one commented. “The sheriff’s got jokes! Love the GTA reference,” another added. “Can’t believe we got real-life GTA 6 before GTA 6,” replied another. 

Seeing as GTA 6 is tapping into Florida, get used to seeing similar scenarios play out when you’re busted. Though, we might not get the post-arrest interviews.