MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle police PSA shows driver snorting cocaine during traffic stop

Dec 27, 2019, 1:18 PM

Seattle police traffic stop...

(Seattle Police Department)

(Seattle Police Department)

Police officers see plenty of strange things on the job, but one Seattle police officer found himself completely shocked during a routine traffic stop featured in an end-of-year PSA from SPD.

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The video shows dash cam footage from 2015, after an officer pulled over a driver for not having his headlights on. After walking away to run the man’s license and registration — and fully intending to let the man off with a warning — the officer returned to something he couldn’t believe.

“What’s in your left hand?” the officer asked.

“Nothing,” the driver answered.

“Are you kidding?” the officer replied. “You’re about the snort coke on the side of the road!”

The driver then tried to pass off the substance in his hand as a vitamin pill, before relenting and admitting that it was indeed cocaine.

The next shot showed the man being cuffed, while the officer — still flabbergasted by what had transpired — continued to try and make sense of what he just witnessed.

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“What would possess you to do that on a traffic stop with a police officer right behind you?” he asked sincerely.

The video closes with a public service message, noting that Seattle police officers will be focusing on DUI enforcement to close out 2019.

“This PSA serves as your friendly reminder to drive sober, and never use cocaine, like this guy, during a traffic stop,” it advised.

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Seattle police PSA shows driver snorting cocaine during traffic stop