The police chief of the Jericho Police Department is outraged after an Arkansas trooper pulled over and ticketed one of his officers who was on duty driving a marked patrol car Monday afternoon.
The unusual scene involving two law enforcement vehicles occurred on Highway 77 in Jericho shortly after 2 p.m., according to WHBQ-TV.
“There was no cause to pullover a marked police car with blue lights (and) with officers in the car, and tell them, 'Y’all ain't got your seat belts on. Y'all are speeding,' " Police Chief Roy Hill told the news station.
Hill claims that the stop was related to a dispute between the two agencies that began in February after an officer issued a speeding ticket to a 19-year-old the chief later learned was the son of a state trooper. The ticket was ultimately dropped by the police department.
Four weeks later, the same teen was again stopped for speeding by a Jericho police officer. Hill said the teen was going 57 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Hill said that before his cruiser was pulled over Monday, one of his officers reported seeing a trooper driving in the area. While it wasn't an unusual occurrence, the chief was shocked to learn what happened just a short time later.
"This here is just, you know to me, harassment, to me, abuse of authority and total retaliation," he told WHBQ-TV.
The trooper gave the officer a warning ticket for speeding and not wearing a seat belt. One of the officers called the chief, who responded the scene in disbelief of what happened.
Hill said the trooper who pulled the officer over is the father of the teen who was repeatedly pulled over for speeding.
The police chief says he wants justice and plans to write a formal complaint to the state of Arkansas.
