“Speeding in and of itself is not a crime. According to the state of Texas, the actual — um — it is the — um — oh, you know, the attorney general. Not the attorney general but the prosecutor. Yes, the DA! The DA is the one who stated on page 19 that speeding in and of itself is not a crime. It is not illegal,” stated Richardson.
The officer went back and forth the Richardson for several minutes before eventually calling for backup and smashing through the window. The cop can be heard in the remaining audio telling Richardson that he was under arrest for failure to identify.
Later, after Richardson has been presumably placed into the back of a police vehicle, the officer can be heard speaking to someone else.
“He’s giving me the Republic of Texas crap,” the officer says. “Saying I stopped him illegally and I don’t have a right to detain him.”
“For speeding?” the other person asks.
“Yeah, that’s all it was,” the officer says. “That’s all it was.”
The Houston Chronicle reports that Richardson’s arguments are consistent with those of the “sovereign citizens” movement, or people who claim they are not subject to state or federal government.
Peter Schulte, a former police officer who is now a lawyer, told CBS DFW that the officer acted correctly.
“I would have pulled him out sooner. I would have said we’re done,” Schulte told the station.
Richardson, naturally, has a different point of view.
“I think I did the right thing,” he told the station. “I stood my ground and I protected my rights.”
It’s unclear what rights Richardson was protecting. The Chronicle reports that the Texas transportation code allows for the enforcement of speed limits, and that speeding is considered probable cause to allow a police officer to detain a citizen and ask for identification.
However, Richardson told FOX that he has no regrets about the incident and insists he was right not to present his ID.
“This is not Nazi Germany,” he said.
Richardson was not charged with speeding and was instead given just a warning on that charge, according to the Chronicle. He was charged with driving with an invalid license, driving with an expired license plate and failure to present his license upon lawful demand.
you sir are an asshole….speeding is not illegal?…pffft
The driver a jackass. I’m glad I’m not the cop i would have shoot the bastard.