It is not every day that you get to see a cool police officer at the traffic lights, asking you if you want to race after the lights turn green.
One officer just did that in Homestead, and the race was caught on camera. The video went viral in no time, which led to an internal investigation against the officer.
Incidents like these remind us that police officers are humans like us, seeking thrills behind the wheel of a fast car like the Dodge Charger, but the question is whether that should be done at the cost of public safety.
The race occurred against a red Dodge Challenger SRT, which the officer had pulled over earlier for doing donuts. However, the driver was reportedly let go with a warning. Now, the footage uploaded by that same driver has attracted trouble for the officer.
Scene Straight Out of a Movie
Police officers asking to be raced at a stoplight sounds like one of those exciting movies involving cars, motorcycles, insane stunts, and action. However, an officer, whose name has not been disclosed, did just that in real life.
Footage on Instagram shows that the police officer’s marked Dodge Charger was at the stoplight when the red Challenger SRT, with a 360-degree camera mounted on the trunk, pulled up right beside him.
The officer rolled down his window and asked the driver of the Challenger if he wanted to “run it.” Suspecting a trick that could get him caught, the driver of the Challenger asked him to promise it was an actual race before agreeing to race an officer on duty.
What followed was a beep of the horn to signal the start of the race. The police officer executed a flawless launch and pulled away, while the red Challenger struggled with wheel spins.
Clearly, the officer was way more skilled than the person piloting the Challenger, making us wonder whether he had made several drag runs against other drivers with fast cars before.
Homestead Police Releases Statement
With concerns raised about a police officer racing on the streets of Miami, the Homestead police released a statement, announcing that an investigation has been launched against the officer in question.
7News quoted Homestead Police spokesperson Oscar Roque, who said:
“It went to our Professional Compliance Bureau, Internal Affairs, and they are conducting their investigation. One, to identify who the officer is, if there any body cam that went on and of course to interview the individual that are involved in this.”
When Roque was asked if the officer would be punished if found guilty, especially since civilians get a ticket for engaging in similar behavior, he assured that the officer would pay for it if the investigation found him at fault. He said:
“You have to look at the entire department and if there is an improper procedure done by a specific officer that officer will be dealt with accordingly. And if the officer was wrong, he’ll pay for it.”
The police department assured that action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation. However, a timeline for the conclusion of the investigation has not been revealed.
According to the caption in the Instagram post, “street racing and stunt driving are criminal offenses that can lead to vehicle impoundment and the loss of a driver’s license,” under Florida law.
“The investigation will weigh the officer’s conduct against Florida Statutes 316.191 and 316.192 (Street Racing and Reckless Driving).”
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