New body camera video is providing a closer look at a traffic stop involving Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo, which quickly raised questions about why the mayor was driving a car with emergency police lights.
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According to Miami Police, Calvo was pulled over on June 14 after making an improper left turn.
“Is this a police car? Is this your personal?” the officer is heard asking Calvo in the bodycam footage.
“I’m an elected official,” Calvo responds.
But the officer says the vehicle’s lights quickly became the bigger concern.
“You turn on your police lights,” he says. “That’s a criminal offense, and I can easily take you to jail. So I don’t care if you’re the mayor. If I stop you and you’re not a police officer, you need to stop and not activate police lights.”
After several minutes, the responding officer came back and issued two tickets to Calvo for an improper left turn and prohibited lights on his vehicle.
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“You’re in possession of a police officer vehicle, but you are not a police officer, which that right there could be a third-degree felony,” the officer says.
The mayor pleaded not guilty to both citations, and the case remains pending.
“One citation relates to a traffic maneuver and the second concerns equipment that was installed on a vehicle owned by and registered to the Hialeah Police Department, a vehicle that was retrofitted before I took office and before the vehicle was assigned to me,” Calvo said in a statement in part.
NBC6 asked the Hialeah Police Department whether it is standard practice to provide a fully equipped police vehicle to the mayor, and is still waiting for a response. It’s unclear if, at this point, the mayor is driving the same vehicle.
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