Fausto Lopez, Police Officer Late For Work, Pulled Over After High-Speed Chase: Florida Highway Patrol

MIAMI -- A Miami police officer is accused of driving 120 mph on a turnpike because he was late for his off-duty job working security at a school.

The Florida Highway Patrol says officer Fausto Lopez was arrested at gunpoint after leading police on a brief high-speed chase.

According to a police report, a trooper spotted a patrol car changing lanes in a dangerous manner earlier this month. The report says the patrol car ignored warnings to pull over and led a brief high-speed chase before stopping near Hollywood.

Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss told The Associated Press on Saturday that any administrative action against Lopez will be taken after the outcome of the criminal case.

Univision first reported the arrest.

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Comments

[carnefice]

05:27 PM on 11/04/2011

The Highway Patrol trooper D.J. Watts.was FIRED TODAY.

A FHP Trooper is fired for doing her job. Who is going to protect the public from the cancer when all the good cops like D.J. Watts cant protect us?

The following two cops were arrested today racketeering, kidnapping, grand theft, extortion....They are already out on bail? What the hell is wrong with America? Who is going to protect us from predator cops? In a two month period 19 cops have been arrested or convicted in South Florida alone!

A pair of Fort Lauderdale police officers charged with 17 criminal counts each are out on bond. Officers Billy Koepke and Brian Dodge face numerous charges including racketeering, kidnapping, grand theft, extortion and official misconduct. "Essentially, the officers are accused of stopping individuals, taking money from the individuals and then falsifying reports as to their activity," said Timothy Donnelly of the Broward State Attorney's Office. "A police officer's integrity is never negotiable. It is the backbone of every enforcement agency," said William Magdalena of the FBI. "A department will not be successful unless it doesn't have the trust of the people." According to law enforcement officials, the officers' arrests focused on stealing money from patrons of pill clinics, saying Koepke and Dodge targeted those patrons.
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21005811987365/

[lshaft]

05:24 AM on 11/03/2011

Late for work??? Hell, he does not have a job anymore!!!

[gov111w]

07:35 PM on 11/02/2011

THEY PROBABLY PROFILED HIM BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.

[lukas jackson]

09:13 AM on 11/04/2011

At 120 mph "they" probably couldn't tell if he was white, black, brown, man, or woman. The arresting officer probably did her friggin job.

[dc2473]

06:33 PM on 11/01/2011

OMG ...........120mph ........ shock , horror !! This is a normal practice in Germany and they have one of the safest road networks in the world.

OK the guy broke the law and should have been summonsed for the offence, but to deprive a person of his liberty for a traffic offence is a disgrace !!

UK spelling !!

[rMatey]

08:28 AM on 11/01/2011

Fausto, " Thanks, Dude. They said if I was late again, that they would fire me. Now I'm gonna be really late."

[CoolCatMiami]

05:46 AM on 11/01/2011

Let's see, moonlights with company vehicle (at the expense of taxpayers), drives recklessly to get to his part-time job (probably after leaving work early while still on the clock) and retires with a $100K pension.

My only regret is not being a cop in South Florida.

[wl944s]

02:31 AM on 11/01/2011

The reporting officer obviously: 1.) Hasn't joined the Union or Fraternal Order Of Police yet. 2.) Hasn't had a briefing by the Union Steward. 3.) Hasn't been introduced to the "Code Of Silence" or "The Thin Blue Line" yet.

[nohopepope2187]

03:54 AM on 11/01/2011

Or he's a legitimate public servant. Either or.

[Kenneth Hill]

12:53 AM on 11/01/2011

WTH?!?! FHP doesn't have anything better to do than chase another cop car down?!?!

[Ray Russelburg]

04:35 PM on 11/01/2011

Actually, yes they do. BUT since it WAS a cop and he WAS speeding and he WAS off duty, he deserved the ticket. More so than anyone.

[mebemommee06]

08:30 PM on 10/31/2011

They're going to pin a new nickname on him,,, Speedy Gonzalez...

[anitaj]

08:05 PM on 10/31/2011

The surprise here is that the speeding officer was arrested.

[Bobbz]

07:44 PM on 10/31/2011

I don't know if a high speed chase was justified (see glen113 below), probably not, and high speed chases are often controversial due to the risks. The officer initiating the chase needs to be sure it's justified, given the risks--is it better to have 2 cars traveling at high speed? Apparently he (the perp) was not pursuing a felon or he would have called it in, but he was driving at 120 mph and changing lanes in a reckless manner. In other words, he was endangering the lives of other people on the road, and it doesn't take much imagination or "what ifs" to realize it could have ended in tragedy. I'm sure he has has some training and experience at high speed driving, to give him the benefit of the doubt, but most of the people on the road with him haven't, and haven't practiced collision avoidance. I don't know if it's a misdemeanor or a felony, but considering the lives he put in danger, and then refused to pull over, it could be a felony.

[glenn113]

10:40 PM on 10/31/2011

making another officer get out of a vehicle at gunpoint is messed up unless she has information the cop just committed a violent felony. she's wacked. and he's an idiot for driving like that.

[bluemule216]

11:31 PM on 10/31/2011

Why is she wacked? She did it by the book!!! How does she know the driver was another cop? The car could have been stolen. That was a text book stop. She is to protect herself first and then find out all of the facts. He was weaving in and out of traffic and traveling over 100 mph. She treated the stop as any other car.

[Taxiof2]

09:27 AM on 11/01/2011

I think she was great! She did a great job and I wish there were more like her. I have to ride the turnpike everyday and I see this all the time. Cops speeding just because they are in their vehicles. If that cop had hit someone and killed them you would be singing a different tune.

[TUNEZ]

07:41 PM on 10/31/2011

I swear to god #71 is just daniel Tosh playing a prank on us all.

[glenn113]

06:30 PM on 10/31/2011

Both the officer speeding and the officer arresting another cop for a simple traffice misdemeanor are both embarrassments to police officers. All she had to do was write down the unit number which is clearly visible on the police vehicle once she got behind him and break off the chase, which by the way, she violated by pursuing a vehicle at that high of speed unless it was a fleeing violent felon. All she had to do was call the supervisor of the officer driving like that and show himor her the video. Let their agency handle it internally. I can guarantee you the next time she calls for back-up she will wait some time for units to arrive.

[SLCPunk]

07:23 PM on 10/31/2011

Yes, because we can always expect justice from an internal police department investigation. Perhaps the trooper knows all to well how PDs work.

And how do you get video without the chase?

[glenn113]

10:26 PM on 10/31/2011

The officer catches up to the vehicle until the officer believes that pursuing the vehicle at this speed constitutes a chase and a danger to bystanders. There is a difference between a chase and following the vehicle at a reasonable distance. The officer must break away if it becomes a chase unless he/she is pursuing an aggrevated felony and has reason to believe the person or persons in the vehicle if not stopped may result in another crime. I know because I was one for 17 years.
When you watch all the cop car chases on tv you'll notice that the vast majority take place in California. California state law allows or did allow a police officer to engage in a chase for a mere traffic violation.
And the fact the the women police officer makes another cop come out at gunpoint for a nothing more than a traffic misdemeanor is asisine and an embarrassment as a law enforcement officer. She is one of those gung-hoe cops that will end up getting herself or another officer seriously injured or killed.

[YakittyGirl]

04:37 PM on 10/31/2011

Maybe he was late for work but I can think of a couple of other possibilities: 1) He had to pee and the seat covers were cloth and 2) He received an urgent bulletin stating that the donut shop had just taken a batch out of the fryer.

[hewhowaits]

12:51 PM on 10/31/2011

FIRE HIM, Oh,wait I forgot ,He's a cop,Laws don't apply to him...

[mebemommee06]

08:32 PM on 10/31/2011

so true,, they go through stop signs, red lights.. oh they've been seen putting on their lights just to go through red lights too..