AZ GOP Top Director Arrested At Party Headquarters

PHOENIX - Just as Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen was concluding a meeting this morning at the Arizona Republican Party headquarters, he and fellow Republican leaders and staffers watched in shock as police officers handcuffed and took into custody their top staffer, Executive Director Brett Mecum, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the party.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mecum was photographed just after midnight on April 10 by a stationary photo enforcement camera driving his Ford Mustang on the 101 freeway eastbound near 59th Avenue driving 109 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone.

The DPS statement says, "The state statute which covers criminal speeding applies to everyone equally. If there are valid criminal charges, the arrest of Mr. Mecum is like any other criminal speeding arrest. In this case, the charges speak for themselves."

Lee Miller, an attorney for the Arizona Republican Party, told the Arizona Capitol Times, "It was a silly, stupid thing to do and there is no excuse and there's no justification for it."

Six hours after Mecum's arrest, a fellow Republican Party staffer was still waiting to pick Mecum up from the Maricopa County 4th Avenue Jail in Phoenix.

Comments

[danoman56]

Phoenix is still a rediculous right wing stronghold where virtually every radio DJ from sports to business feel the need to constantly bash the President and the Dems. I thousght Republican stood for less Government. Well I just left Phoenix and it's darn near a police state. Photo radar, stop light photo cams. Daily raids on homes of suspected illegal immagrants, racial profiling by "Sheriff Joe" and his posse. Not to mention that the city owns all the utilities and taxes everything imaginable and has the most oppressive business regulations imaginable.
It is stupid to get caught 40 plus miles over the speed limit in phoenix but if you are only doing 25 miles over the limit you are liable to get run over by the woest drivers in the country.

[yellowdoggie]

I think someone needs to get the word out to the AZ state police. Don't they know that Republicans aren't subject to the same laws as the rest of us?

[Bold Mort]

Finally someone with sense. Maybe we should send Blagoyevich?

[pros54]

May be cars should have a max speed built into their construction or else why all that power you cannot use? On the other hand this was power misuse if not abuse. They did not have to waste all that manpower on him. He could have been summoned and if he did not comply then the show of force will have been necessary as there is nothing to show he is a flight risk or a recalcitrant offender and the offense was not ongoing.

[1differentdrummer]

Okay, I just came home from PHX and saw large yellow signs along the highways there warning of the camera-radar setups. My guess is you'd need to be impaired by some chemical substance to blast past the warning signs at speeds like that. He's lucky he didn't get a DUI, too.

[tlgeiger62]

One of the major flaws of that system - it doesn't pull over those under the influence, just catches them speeding. It's a matter of money...not safety.

[steelwheels]

The trick with that is, if pulled over for DWI and prosecuted for such the moneis collected go to the STATE. This is usually handled by the DPS. However, if pulled over for excessive speed, (usually double the posted speed limit) Racing (with whom?) Reckless, (endangerment) or even DWI, but booked as P.I. (public Intoxication) the monies go to the municipality. Its all about WHO pulls you over, and WHERE they want the money to go.

[NPA]

Dam all this technology, sigh!

[Deaninphilly]

LOL, just what I thought.

[Annieke]

Everyone is equal under the law.

After 8 years, the GOP needs some adjusting once more.

[STG 44]

The speed of light.
186,000 M.P.S. (Miles Per Second).
It's a limit we can live with.

[CDRUSNret]

Still got that old tee-shirt:

"186,00 Miles per Second
Not just a good idea......it's the law!"

[KrugnacTheMagnificent]

Nice. I've driven that fast before.

[123dee]

Rule of law, has a nice ring to it.

[Madbunny]

That's one sweet looking Mustang.

Rather than just guessing I used the photo information listed in the article to look up the actual location it was taken via Google maps.

I won't deny doing a bit of my own speeding, at speeds just as fast, or faster in some cases. Heck going through Utah I had the cruise control set at 105 for half the state once. Never in residential areas though.
He was caught out by a camera dead to rights. He knew there was a risk in doing what he did, now he's paying the price for taking that risk. He has nothing to complain about. Past his whining about political motivations, he's ignoring that even if it *was* politically motivated he BROKE THE LAW.

[Warthog]

I believe it is called 'driving to the public endangerment', a grade below felon reckless driving. There are hundreds of statistics that prove operating a vehicle this fast on a public street 'will', not if, not might, but invariably result in an accident. It is only a question of how long the driver can maintain control.

[Deaninphilly]

He was on an expressway not a street. 40 miles over the speed limit usually results in a suspension for a time period and then retesting to get your license back along with the fine. They could go for reckless driving but most likely will be plea bargained out for paying a fine and taking the full suspension. Call it what you want this is traffic court and most of us have all been there.

[NRay]

Then most Germans should be dead by now, given the speed at which they (even the little old ladies) routinely drive their cars. Of course, they don't drive down the autobahn with one arm slung over the seat or nursing a 32 ounce cup of crushed ice and soda either. (There is a reason their auto engineers resisted designing cup holders into their cars for years!) It does require attention to one's driving.

[dolphy]

Look Ma, my Mustang could go over a hundred.

[STG 44]

Speed by itself is irrelevant to safety. Just track the general increase in speed limits from 1910 to 1970 and you will see a general upward trend of from roughly 5 to 10 miles per hour per decade. That would put a 65 M.P.H. speed limit in 1970 at 85 to 105 M.P.H. today if the trend line had continued uninterrupted. At the same time deaths per vehicle mile declined sharply.

[JackNasty]

"Laws are for the little people." -- an unwritten GOP leadership recruiting brochure

[huffyISaHottie]

in a hurry and going no where

[artimus711]

seems like the rest of the republican party....going nowhere fast!.....

[chronic]

LOL good one!