Miami cop accused of driving 120 mph in squad car to off-duty job

[alp227]

Source: CNN

A Miami police officer in a marked squad car has been charged with reckless driving, accused of zigzagging through Florida Turnpike traffic at more than 120 miles an hour so that he could be on time for his off-duty job, the Florida Highway Patrol said Saturday.

Officer Fausto Lopez, 35, of Miami was handcuffed at gunpoint earlier this month and charged with second-degree reckless driving, a misdemeanor, according to the highway patrol's offense report. Lopez was eventually released, authorities said.

In a pursuit videotaped on the trooper's in-car camera, Lopez led Florida highway patrol officer D.J. Watts on a seven-minute, almost 12-mile chase in pre-dawn darkness on Tuesday, October 11, the report said.

The state patrol officer was driving on the turnpike when the white marked Miami police car blew by at a high rate of speed and "crossed over all lanes of traffic," the report said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/29/us/florida-cop-reckless-driving/index.html

[UnrepentantLiberal]

1. Above the law...

Officer Fausto Lopez, 35, of Miami was handcuffed at gunpoint earlier this month and charged with second-degree reckless driving, a misdemeanor, according to the highway patrol's offense report.

Doing that usually results in a beat-down and a felony on your record. What's different here?

[lib2DaBone]

2. Why not? The cop is just trying to maintain his life style....

Probably has a huge mortagage.. kids in private schools... credit cards.... he needs to get to his gravy side-job at $35 an hour....