John Kasich In Car Accident, 'Idiot' Officer Responds

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) was involved in a minor car accident near Columbus Tuesday, WLWT.com reports. A Kasich spokesman said that a bus rear-ended the car behind the state vehicle carrying the governor, leading to a multi-car pileup. No one was seriously injured.

The officer who responded to the accident was Robert Barrett, the man Kasich publicly called an "idiot." During a speech last year, Kasich mentioned getting ticketed by Barrett, according to WCMH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbus.

(Video of Kasich's original comments above)

"There's just a way to deal with people, the kind of way I deal with you here today," he told the crowd. "Have you ever been stopped by a policeman who's an idiot?"

The governor later called Barrett to his office and apologized. A Kasich spokesman told WCMH-TV in February 2011, "Today Gov. Kasich met with Officer Barrett and apologized and that apology was graciously accepted. It was a friendly meeting during which the governor reiterated his support for law enforcement officers and for the dangerous and important work they do."

Barrett had no idea he would reunite with Kasich when he responded to the accident Tuesday, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

After Barrett was assigned to the crash, the president of the city’s police union told the paper that Barrett “is a professional law-enforcement officer who will do his due diligence to interact with the governor and everyone involved in the accident.” Barrett reportedly did not speak with Kasich at the scene of the crash.