A Pinal County Sheriff’s Office traffic stop has racked up over a million views after a deputy and a driver argued over who was actually being disrespectful. The Arizona office posted the footage as a special episode of its “Fridays With Frank” series, cut from Deputy Frank Sloup’s body camera. It’s the latest viral hit in a series the office has spent years using to inject a little comedy into its traffic enforcement operations.
The footage shows a traffic stop on a highway at dusk with the driver’s face covered by a scowling emoji, which is usually how the office hides just about everyone it pulls over. The exchange turns pretty tense when Sloup tells the driver he doesn’t buy the story they were telling.
The driver fires back that Sloup’s the disrespectful one, and the deputy answers that saying so is “also very disrespectful.” It seems they’re at an impasse.
“Fridays With Frank” is a fun series the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has been running since 2021, and it follows Sloup, a longtime traffic deputy, as he works stops on Arizona highways. He’s told AZFamily it started as a public service announcement about changes in state traffic law. It eventually grew into something bigger. He’s known for the dry, blunt comebacks he gives drivers. That’s a big part of what keeps people coming back.
Because of these videos (and the office’s personality), the sheriff’s office is now one of the most-followed law enforcement offices in the country. In fact, its social media following has sprinted ahead of some the biggest federal agencies. Sloup’s been clear about what’s under the jokes as well, telling InMaricopa it’s all about getting drivers to slow down before a wreck does it for them.
Who’s the Deputy Behind “Fridays With Frank”?
Sloup’s been a deputy in Arizona for about 25 years, and these days he runs traffic enforcement for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. He’s a certified drug recognition expert, and was on A&E’s “Live PD” before the online series ever took off. The office started posting “Fridays With Frank” in late 2021, and it’s run well past 180 episodes since.
A lot of Pinal County drivers know who Sloup is by the time he reaches their window, and he’s said some of them greet him by name before he gets a word out. Off the clock, he’s built it into a brand of his own, with a YouTube channel where he breaks down other agencies’ bodycam footage and a store full of “Fridays With Frank” merchandise.
Why Does The Sheriff’s Office Do ?
The office puts out a new episode most weeks. Almost every one wraps with the same on-screen message: the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is hiring deputies. That way, a clip that takes off online ends up doing recruiting work. Then the clip is dropping a job ad in front of millions who tuned in for the comedy.
Those cartoon faces go over just about every driver Sloup stops, too. Behind the comedy, the roads he works are actually pretty dangerous. He’s called the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, a frequent setting for the show, one of the most dangerous in the county.
But no matter where he ends up filming an exchange, you can bet it’s meant to help the public in some way. Whether people who engage choose to be entertained or learn a lesson is up to them, though.