Sheriff Carmine Marceno of Lee County, Florida, doesn’t like road racers. He mentioned as a lot in a press launch final month, after deputies arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly racing his Lexus in opposition to a Charger at 104 mph: “I’ve zero tolerance for road racing in Lee County.” One would suppose that such a staunch place would apply in all attainable circumstances, however apparently there’s an exception. Marceno appears to suppose road racing is ok when he does it, as he was filmed allegedly racing a Lamborghini simply two weeks after that assertion.
Marceno, in his Fb assertion, mentioned that “Driving an extreme velocity and placing your self, your passengers, and others on the highway in danger is an extremely egocentric determination.” Maybe he thought he was mitigating these dangers within the video obtained by the Florida Trident, the place he seems to race a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder in opposition to the clip’s videographer in a C8 Corvette — he is the one occupant of the Huracan, so not less than he is not endangering any passengers.
Hypocrisy, thy title is cop
Cops usually see legal guidelines as one thing they implement with out ever needing to obey, and video proof of road racing from a purportedly anti-street-racing sheriff is an ideal encapsulation of that mindset. It is dangerous when others do it, notably these uppity children of their Lexuses, however it’s nice for somebody who reportedly earns $261,000 per 12 months to “defend and serve” to topic folks to that very same danger. One would possibly make an argument that cops are higher suited to high-speed driving, given their expertise with chases, however one may additionally understand that cops are dangerous at chases too.
Cops shouldn’t be exempt from the legal guidelines they’re paid to implement. Alleged road racing is an excessive instance, however legal guidelines ought to apply equally all the way in which right down to obscured license plates or parking on sidewalks — a badge and a gun should not put anybody above the regulation. Nonetheless, it will be fascinating to see how Marceno manages to justify certified immunity right here. Hoping for him to see any form of penalty from the alleged habits is just too optimistic.
