S.C. Lt. Gov. Caught Speeding, No Tickets

**lcsodre108** · 03-28-06, 07:52 PM

S.C. Lt. Gov. Caught Speeding, No Tickets
By MEG KINNARD and SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press Writers

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has been stopped at least twice in the past four months for speeding - once for going 101 mph in a 70 mph zone on a wet highway - but was let off without a ticket.

Video recordings of the stops and audio recordings of radio exchanges were obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.
On Feb. 25, Bauer was stopped on Interstate 77 for driving over 100 mph in his state-issued car.
Video taken by a camera mounted in the patrol car shows that when the trooper asked the driver for his name, Bauer identified himself as "SC Two" - code for lieutenant governor. The trooper then says, "You have a good night, sir," and the video ends.

Bauer, 37, said Tuesday he did not realize how fast he was going.
"There's no excuse for me driving that fast," he told the AP. "I've got a lead foot, there's no question. I'm embarrassed if I was going that fast."
Bauer said he never asked for or expected preferential treatment. He said he identified himself as SC Two not for preferential treatment but rather to let officers know he who was so they would not be worried about approaching him.
On Dec. 26, another trooper gave Bauer a warning for going 77 or 78 mph in a 65 mph zone at the wheel of a BMW, Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden said.

Public Safety Director James Schweitzer refused to say whether either trooper would be disciplined. But he said the trooper involved in the 101-mph stop reported the incident to his superiors.
In 2003, an officer who stopped Bauer for driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone drew his gun when the lieutenant governor got out of his car and approached the officer.
Bauer, a Republican, was elected in 2002 and is up for re-election this fall but has not yet filed as a candidate.
"I've gotten several tickets, so it's not like I've gotten special treatment," he said.

Cheech · 03-28-06, 08:04 PM

SOoo....Do people know police officers have discretion?

**Prometheus** · 03-28-06, 08:07 PM

Two thoughts on this:

1. The Lt. Governor should be setting the example for the citizens and LE personnel in his state. He should have requested the trooper write him the ticket.

2. The Lt. Governor has a HUGE influence over not only the individual troopers' jobs, but on the entire State Police force as well - whether they voted for him or not. How the HELL could you blame them for not writing the ticket?

**lcsodre108** · 03-28-06, 08:07 PM

In this case I would have written him for the 101 mph, that is too damn fast in those conditions, and I promise you that if he had killed somebody in an accident and it was discovered that the trooper didn't ticket him, that trooper would being paying somebody's family for the rest of his life.
But, I can also see why he wasn't written. In Arkansas we aren't even supposed to stop a legislator when the House or Senate is in session.

**Retdetsgt** · 03-28-06, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by lcsodre108

In this case I would have written him for the 101 mph, that is too damn fast in those conditions, and I promise you that if he had killed somebody in an accident and it was discovered that the trooper didn't ticket him, that trooper would being paying somebody's family for the rest of his life.
But, I can also see why he wasn't written. In Arkansas we aren't even supposed to stop a legislator when the House or Senate is in session.

I don't see how the trooper could keep him from speeding after he left his sight, whether he ticketed him or not. The only way he could have prevented him from driving that fast again would be to throw him in jail. Civil liability would be a lot harder to prove in a speeding case where you cited and released than in a DUI one where you didn't take the person into custody.

We can't write legislators either when it's in session. They all have license plates indicating who they are.

katiemh · 03-28-06, 08:24 PM

Just some randomness... a LEO from a Florida agency which shall remain nameless... once ticketed a Florida Governor's Agent, who was at the time driving the Governor to a meeting.

**cntryboy0531** · 03-29-06, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by katiemh

Just some randomness... a LEO from a Florida agency which shall remain nameless... once ticketed a Florida Governor's Agent, who was at the time driving the Governor to a meeting.

was it a trooper?

**Virginian** · 03-29-06, 08:21 AM

Saw this in another article -

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, a Democrat, said a routine internal investigation is being conducted, as is the case whenever an officer draws his service weapon. It is not under investigation by the department's Internal Affairs unit, he said.

Since when is there an investigation every time a gun comes out??

**mxwelch** · 03-29-06, 08:25 AM

Bah!! That guy is still a rookie. He needs to watch Marion Berry if he ever expects to make it to the big time.

**danninator** · 03-29-06, 12:41 PM

Anyone ever see the video of Al Gore getting some paper?

**Retdetsgt** · 03-29-06, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by danninator

Anyone ever see the video of Al Gore getting some paper?

That was here in Oregon. An OSP trooper wrote him. He wasn't driving anywhere near a hundred mph though.

The thing about this SC Lt Gov that annoys me is that he's playing sort of a victim here. He says he told the trooper he was SC2 because he wanted the trooper to know he was safe????

More like, "Hey, asshole, I'm the Lt. Governor of the state is more like it. He could have easily just given him his driver's license.

**Curt581** · 03-29-06, 04:55 PM

In the overal scheme of things... the only people who give a shit are those who've recently been stopped and ticketed by troopers for speeding. They only care because they now have an excuse to say, "Waaaahh! I got a ticket, and he didn't".

The press cares because they enjoy going on fishing expeditions by filing Open Records requests. Dirt sells newspapers... even minor dirt like a speeding ticket. It's even better if the public figure in question is a Republican, and the press can use the dirt to advance their own agenda.

**TXCharlie** · 03-29-06, 05:16 PM

100 MPH is reckless driving, and so is 60 in a 35 zone.

I don't know what SC laws are, but in an ideal world, all but one of those incidents should have gotten him arrested and kicked out of office, unless he was Jack Bauer trying to stop a hydrogen bomb from exploding.

But this wasn't Jack - it was Andre.

**BEK** · 03-29-06, 05:39 PM

When I first got into LE I stopped this car for speeding and blowing through a stop sign, I have made a decision that if I write a ticket I wont bitch them out, If I bitch them out I wont write a ticket..there are exceptions. Well I proceed to chew this guy and down for speeding and not stopping. When I was done he said, My name is..... I am your state rep and I have been meaning to stop by and talk to the cop I have heard so much about. and then he shook my hand and said thanks for keeping our roads safe

**lcsodre108** · 03-29-06, 05:47 PM

I have made a decision that if I write a ticket I wont bitch them out, If I bitch them out I wont write a ticket

I do the same thing, our traffic instructor in the academy taught that. Of course he was 6'9" 350, and had played D-1 football as a defensive tackle, so when he spoke, we listened.