A police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) is now on paid administrative leave after his interaction with a motorcyclist gained attention on YouTube.
The LVMPD had previously launched an internal investigation into the incident, which was captured and uploaded by motorcyclist John Paul Rosario.
According to the video, the incident occurred on Feb. 16 around 8:30 and shows Rosario keeping his distance from the truck in front of him before his motorcycle is given what he described as a “love tap.” Rosario said that he has the camera for insurance purposes so that he is able to protect himself when he gets in an accident.
The police officer, who has not been identified, gets out of the car and walks over to Rosario, clearly livid, and asked whether Rosario hit the brakes when he changed lanes. Both the police officer and Rosario then acknowledged that they were filming the incident.
Rosario tried to explain that he was keeping his distance for his safety and he wasn’t aware that the officer was that close to him, but the police officer claims that he was breaking the law.
“I wasn’t, but I can’t stop that God damn fast when you hit the brakes,” the police officer said.
He then said that he could write Rosario a “shitload of tickets,” but instead let him off with a warning.
The video was posted on March 1 and has since been gotten more than 142,000 views.
Police sources told to CBS affiliate KLAS that Rosario has a history of intentionally causing accidents, to which he just laughed.
The police officer will remain on paid administrative leave until LVMPD has completed its investigation. Rosario, however, thinks that’s generous for what he called “uncalled for aggression.”
“I want to shine a light on officers like this,” Rosario said, who has hired an attorney. “He had no business talking to me like that. He did not act like a professional.”
Photo via vegasstreetriders/YouTube