The top cop in Austin, Texas, is calling foul on two of his members of his force after police dashcam video showed a senior officer being let go without a ticket after he was pulled over for speeding.
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Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley became aware of the Feb. 18 video last week, which showed Assistant Chief Chris McIlvain, who was off duty at the time, being stopped for going 148 km/h on a highway — more than 40 km/h faster than the posted speed.
“How are we going to continue to build trust and faith within our community if we’re not holding ourselves to the same standards?” Manley asked during a press conference on Tuesday.
The video shows McIlvain, who is tasked with making sure other officers on the force are abiding by the law, was let off with just a warning by Officer David Montalvo.
McIlvain can then be heard explaining he was speeding because he was trying to get to Waco, more than 160 kilometres away, in time for a college sports game.
The entire stop lasted about 30 seconds.
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Manley said he asked Montalvo if he gave preferential treatment to McIlvain.
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“I asked him whether or not he would’ve handled that the same way if it were a citizen or someone else, would they have received a warning? The officer indicated they would not have,” Manley said.
Manley confirmed that McIlvain has since been issued a ticket for speeding.
“This community would look at this incident and I think that they would believe that had it been them that were stopped, they would not have been treated in the manner that our officer was treated,” Manley added.
A letter was sent to all members of the Austin Police Department on Tuesday reminding officers that they are to “comply with all laws, including the traffic code.”
Manley told reporters that Montalvo would not receive further discipline but instead hoped this could be used as a teaching moment.
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