A clueless cop in Illinois did not let his ignorance of the law stop him from falsely accusing a citizen of breaking the law.
But the citizen was well-versed in the law, which resulted in an embarrassing video for the cop. Especially considering it came from his own body camera, apparently obtained by the man he had harassed.
The man who has not made his name public launched a YouTube channel named Benton PD last month where he posted the video showing Benton police officer Mark Wilkey inside his patrol car following him on his bicycle for five blocks before pulling him over.
Wilkey tells the man he stopped him because he only had a reflector on the back of his bicycle and not a light.
“You have a reflector,” Wilkey says. “It’s just like a car, you have to have a light.”
But the law in Illinois only requires a light on the front of the bicycle, not the back. And the man was well-aware of that.
However, Wikley continued bluffing, offering to show him the Illinois Vehicle Code which he claimed would prove him right but when the man took him up on his offer,
“Actually I’m not required to show you the IVC,” Wilkey said, moments after offering to show it to him.
The man told Wikley to give him a ticket so he could fight it in court but the cop then claimed he was not going to give him a ticket.
Nevertheless, the cop still wanted to see his identification. But the man did not want to provide the identification because he knew he had been stopped unlawfully.
“I just moved here from North Carolina and I’ve read the laws,” the man said.
“You did?” the cops asks.
“Yeah, and I’d like you to read them and see,” he responds.
But the cop continued pestering him for his identification so the man gave it to him under duress.
“You’re required to have a light on the back,” he insisted.
And he continued making up laws, telling the man he was required by law to obtain an Illinois identification within 30 days of moving to the state when the law actually states 90 days.
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Wikley then takes the man’s identification with him back to his car where he checked him for warrants, his ultimate goal apparently to arrest the man on the bike who told the cop he was in a hurry because he was on his way to help somebody.
The cop can then be seen using his smartphone to Google about the bicycle laws in Illinois where he was proven incorrect about being required to have a light on the back.
That was when the cop walked back to the man and handed him his identification back, telling him he was free to go.
But the man insisted the cop write him a ticket for not having a light on the back of his bicycle.
“I’m not going to write you anything,” the cop responds.
“I’d like you to write me a ticket so we can go to court and we can stand in front of the judge and I can tell him that you’re wrong and he can explain to you the laws,” he tells the cop.
But the cop said it was all about his “safety” and nothing more. But when cops say “safety,” they really mean “control.” It was all control over this man’s freedom.
