A teenager in Pinal County, Arizona, was pulled over for speeding. When asked about it, he said that he was rushing home because of stomach issues, which a deputy labeled a “tummy ache.” Of course, the man in uniform wasn’t amused.
The interaction was one of two involving Deputy Frank Sloup with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. These two traffic stops are part of the traditional Fridays With Frank, during which the deputy shows interactions of the type with Pinal County drivers.
During episode 210, Sloup pulled over a teenage boy driving a grey sedan. According to the deputy, the teen was speeding at about 66 mph in a 40 mph zone.
The deputy confronted the teenager over his driving and was met with awkward silence at first. Perhaps things should’ve stayed that way due to the incoming excuse.
A Tummy Ache
After asking the teen to turn the volume down, Sloup asked him why he was driving like that. The boy froze and didn’t respond.
“That’s a question. That means that I ask you a question and an answer comes back to me. That’s how conversations work,” the deputy said.
The teen, shirtless while behind the wheel, said, “I’m trying to get home. My stomach hurts.” Sloup, maybe in shock, clapped back, “You got tummy ache?”
Worse By The Minute
After collecting his thoughts about the magnitude of the excuse, the Arizona deputy confronted the teen about his reckless driving. In addition to speeding, the boy is accused of changing lanes and tailgating.
“Everything about watching you drive is bad,” Sloup said. He then pointed out that the teen never used his turn signal and that there was a crack in the vehicle’s windshield. He compared it to “a map of I-10 across the United States.”
Sloup then asked the teen for the car’s registration paperwork and proof of insurance. The boy appeared to look frantically for it for a while and ended up coming empty-handed.
Traffic Violations
Tired of waiting, Sloup told the boy to call his mom and dad and, should he find the paperwork, to hold it out his window. Then, he returned to his patrol car.
Talking to the camera, the deputy said that the teenager had no reason to drive as aggressively as he did. He then printed the boy’s tickets.
Sloup decided to cut the teen a break by writing him a regular speeding ticket, while he could’ve written him a criminal one. Other traffic violations included driving without a license and driving without proof of insurance.
In the end, the deputy kept things lighthearted in what is arguably a tense situation. How? He asked the teen to show his blinker fluid level, adding, “It looks like it works.”
When you gotta go you gotta go!!