New footage shows the shocking moment a Florida police officer pulled over a suspected drunk driver only to discover it was a colleague at the wheel.
Body camera footage shows Miami Gardens Police Sergeant Andrea Smith falling asleep and yelling “I’m not crazy” during her department’s arrest on March 14 on suspicion of DUI and reckless driving.
“Really, Sergeant? Do you even know how to drive?” a Miami Gardens officer asked incredulously after spotting Smith getting out of his car for a traffic violation, the video shows. Obtained by NBC6 South Florida.
According to local reports, Smith is accused of running two red lights and speeding in his white Mercedes before being pulled over by police.
When she got out of the car wearing a dress and high heels, she had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and the foul odor of alcohol was coming from her breath, according to the police report.
She refused to take a breathalyzer test and was booked into jail that night, NBC6 reported.
“I’m not crazy, I’m sober,” she shouted at the arresting officers, warning them: “If I can send a sergeant to jail, I can send you to jail too.”
The video shows Smith in the back of a police patrol car waiting to be taken to jail.
The sergeant in the back seat complained that she was being treated “like an animal” by her “buddies” and yelled that she was “going to sue Miami Gardens.”
The video also shows Smith leaning forward and falling asleep.
Bizarrely, the officer also offered financial advice to the officer and reportedly bragged about a “$130,000” car.
“Get your money and get out,” she told the arresting officer, referring to her employer.
Smith has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been relieved of his duties by the Miami Gardens Police Department.
Her attorney, Mark Lefcourt, told NBC6 that the body camera footage supports the sergeant’s claim that she was not, in fact, intoxicated.
“The arrest of Officer Andrea Smith is truly a travesty of the law,” Lefcourt said. “Not only does video footage show that Officer Smith did not suffer from bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, an unsteady gait or an inability to communicate intelligently, but Officer Smith agreed to undergo a full range of DUI prevention training.”
She also claimed police only arrested her in retaliation for being a “whistleblower,” but refused to say what she had blown the whistle on.
