A man in Gwinnett County, Georgia, starred in a bizarre traffic stop after officers noticed that the license plate in his vehicle not only didn’t belong to the car he was driving, but also was a fake one, police said. Footage also shows him saying that he didn’t need a license to drive, which might as well be a ticket straight to jail.
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department (GCPD), the incident occurred back on June 25. At around 9:20 a.m., an officer saw a white Ford Mustang GT and decided to conduct a traffic stop.
The officer had noticed that the license plate attached to the GT didn’t belong to the car itself, police said. As a result, the officer approached the driver to investigate the discrepancy.
The cop wasn’t aware that he was about to open a Pandora’s Box of driving red flags. And it all started, as per the police, with a refusal to show a driver’s license.
Confusion Settles
A brief interaction followed as the man, later identified as Jordan Jamaal Reed, held out some documentation. Supposedly, it would explain the situation with his GT. It did not.
The officer asked him for his driver’s license. Instead, Reed can be seen holding out some sort of identification.
The cop returned to his patrol car and began checking records. The GCPD said that Reed didn’t have a valid driver’s license, the vehicle’s registration had expired, and that the license plate attached to the GT was not issued by any government agency.
A Minister, Arrested
Before returning to Reed, the officer handed the provided documentation to another cop. While reading it, the officer read that Reed referred to himself as “His Excellency,” perhaps a title of sorts.
This would make sense shortly after. Officers returned to the GT and told Reed to step out of the vehicle. One officer called him “Jamal Reed,” but he said that wasn’t his name. Instead, he preferred to be called “Reverend Reed.”
Reed, who said he was a minister, refused to leave his vehicle, as shown in the bodycam footage attached above. One officer grabbed his arm, and he soon exited the GT and was escorted to officers’ patrol units.
No License Needed?
Handcuffed, and right before he was placed in a patrol car, an officer told Reed he was driving without a license. Hence, his arrest.
The man didn’t agree with the law, apparently, and said, “I don’t need a license to drive, sir.” Of course, he was monumentally wrong, so he was placed in the patrol car, ready to be transported to jail.
Reed now faces multiple charges. According to the Georgia Gazette, these include removing or affixing a plate with intent to conceal, driving with an expired tag and/or registration, and driving with an expired license.