Iowa Cop Suspended After Encouraging Pulling Over Of Speeding Car Containing Governor

Chris | InformationLiberation
Jul. 03, 2013

Speeding is just fine when you're the governor being chauffeured by a "public safety professional," and any cops who try to get in your way and uphold the silly laws (intended only to extort the little people) are committing an act of "insubordination," which is grounds for termination.

From the Press Citizen:
The removal from duty of a prominent Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent came five days after he encouraged Iowa State Patrol troopers to pull over a speeding vehicle that, it turns out, contained Gov. Terry Branstad, records obtained by The Des Moines Register show.

A review of speeding by the governor’s vehicle is underway, according to a Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Audio files obtained this morning from the department show Fort Dodge-based Special Agent in Charge Larry Hedlund first telephoned a state patrol dispatcher at roughly 2 p.m. on April 26 to report a black SUV doing “a hard 90” on Highway 20 east of Interstate 35.

Recorded telephone calls show that Hedlund was calling out mile markers as troopers coordinated a traffic stop on the vehicle, which for some reason did not appear in computerized state vehicle registration records.

“Maybe it’s the feds and they’re making a movie,” a joking dispatcher speculated while troopers were working to get into position.

Troopers eventually clocked the vehicle at 84 mph. An in-car video shows the responding trooper got close to Branstad’s vehicle but never ordered it to pull over. A communications log indicates the trooper advised that “this turned out to be Car 1.”

[...]Lt. Robert Hansen, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, identified the driver of Branstad’s vehicle as Trooper Steve Lawrence. Asked about state policy regarding troopers violating state speeding laws, Hansen said his department “is reviewing the situation as part of a confidential personnel investigation.”

[...]Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said the governor and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds “were in the vehicle but were unaware this event had occurred” until Branstad was told this morning that the information was going to be released to the Register.

“We have public safety professionals who drive the governor and lieutenant governor throughout Iowa’s 99 counties,” Albrecht said. “We have great faith and trust in Iowa’s law enforcement officials to ensure the safety of the governor and all Iowans.”
Translation: there are two sets of rules, those for the rulers and those for the ruled.

Watch the video:














All original InformationLiberation articles CC 4.0



About - Privacy Policy