If you're gonna speed and drive on a suspended license at 1am don't try to play the race card.
That's exactly what happened after a Minnesota Democrat lawmaker was pulled over for purportedly speeding and driving on a suspended license late at night on the 4th of July.
After being pulled over the politician, State Rep John Thompson, ran to the media to cry racism but now the bodycam footage from his interaction with the police proves he's not being honest about his claim.
This man owes the officer an apology.
The video, released by St. Paul police, shows state Rep. John Thompson after he was pulled over around 1:20 a.m. on July 4.
“Why in such a hurry?” the cop asks Thompson.
“I don’t think I took off like a bat out of hell,” Thompson responds on the video, which was published by bringmethenews.com.
“I just drove off,” the lawmaker said. “I’m a state representative in this district right now.
“With a Wisconsin license?” the officer asks.
“Yes, with a Wisconsin license,” Thompson said. “I’m state Representative John Thompson.”
The cop then returns to his squad car and runs a check on Thompson’s license.
After 14 minutes, the unnamed officer returns to Thompson and tells him his license in Minnesota is suspended, the footage shows.
The state rep shakes his head, but the officer tells him, “that’s what the computer says. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to deal with DVS,” or the Department of Vehicle Services.
Thompson then asks the cop why he was pulled over.
“No front plate, and the way you took off from the light back there,” the officer says.
“I’m too old to run from the police, man,” Thompson says. “You profiled me because you looked me dead in the fact and I got a ticket for driving while black.
“You pulled me over because you saw a black face in this car, brother,” the lawmaker said. “There’s no way in hell I’m taking off with you behind me. You looked in this car and busted a U-turn and got behind my car, and that’s the reason.”
The officer tells him “it’s on camera.”
“I know, but what you’re doing is wrong to black men, and you need to stop that,” Thompson said before the cop walks back to his vehicle.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell later fired back at Thompson’s claims, KSTP-TV said.
“Simply put, the traffic stop was by the book,” Axtell told the station on Friday. “What happened afterward was anything but. I’m dismayed and disappointed by the state representative’s response to the stop.