A police sheriff in the USA was pulled over by another cop for speeding, leading to a seriously awkward encounter followed by a public apology. You can see the whole bizarre episode unfold in the video below:
The incident took place in August 2021, but has since gone viral on Reddit, where many have praised the actions of the officer, as well as criticising the sheriff for his part.
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Officer Henry from Wilson Police Department was out performing his duties when he spotted a black truck doing 37mph in a 25mph zone.
As you can imagine, he couldn’t have that.
However, he didn’t realise that the car he was pulling over was that of Sheriff Chris Bryant, who is in charge of the entirety of Carter County, Oklahoma.
In the dashcam footage, the officer asked Sheriff Bryant to produce his licence, a request to which he flatly refused.
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Bryant said: “I’m the Sheriff.
“I’m not giving you my licence. I’m the Sheriff. I’m not giving you my driver's licence.”
Of course, just because he’s the sheriff doesn’t mean that he’s above the law.
Speeding is still speeding, unless you’re an emergency worker responding to a call.
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Officer Henry started to walk off, making sure to tell Bryant to stay right where he was.
However, Bryant got out of his car – which the police department said was unmarked – and started to argue with the officer.
“Do you realise I’m the Sheriff of this county? You pulled me over. You made your point. Are you going to write me a ticket?” he said.
Officer Henry responded: “I wasn’t going to.
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“I was just going to look at your licence. I was just asking to look at it. Then I was going to send you on out about your day.”
At this point, the sheriff finally relented.
Well, sort of.
He produced his licence and showed it to the officer but didn’t hand it over for him to take a proper look for himself.
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Bryant did produce a card that proved that he was also a law enforcement officer, though.
Not that it matters.
The chief of police in Wilson said that he was proud of how his officer ‘kept his composure’.
For his part, Sheriff Bryant has since issued an apology for his actions.
In a statement, he said: “I apologize for my actions on Friday in Wilson.
“It was poor judgment on my part to be driving in excess of the speed limit and to not promptly display my driver’s license when asked to do so.
“For whatever little it is worth, I did return to the Wilson Police Department about an hour later and apologized to the officer who had initiated the traffic stop."
“I have also apologized to the City Mayor as well as the Police Chief. There was no need for me to be curt.
"This man was simply doing his job.”
In the end, Bryant was not given a ticket.
One person commented: “Cop should’ve been like, ‘oh sorry I thought a sheriff would’ve known better than to break the law’.”
Another wrote: “Just because the punk was a sheriff doesn’t mean his driving is any better than another civilian. The crime is the crime. It’s not the officer’s job to judge the law, just observe, intervening if needed when life is at risk, and let the courts do the job.”
A third said: “Abuse of power at its highest right here.”
Featured Image Credit: TikTokTopics: US News, Crime, Weird, Cars