Deputy Stops Wrong SUV - November 1, 2021
- 9 months ago
On the night of November 1st, 2021, Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office deputies were advised to be on the lookout for a "rough looking" white SUV, possibly an Isuzu Rodeo, that was all over the road. The dispatcher didn't elaborate on what "rough looking" meant but I'm assuming it meant dented up, faded and/or scratched and/or missing paint, and/or other visible damage.
A deputy drove right past the actual suspect vehicle and found a white Toyota 4-Runner about a mile behind it. By his own admission, the Toyota he turned around on was in good shape, wasn't damaged, and most likely wasn't the vehicle they were supposed to be looking for.
He wanted to stop the vehicle anyway but didn't have any legal grounds to, so he "accidentally" misread one letter of the license plate, which naturally returned to something different than a white 4-Runner. This "accidental" misreading is the same tactic used by Frisco, Texas police in that viral traffic stop gone bad on July 23rd, 2023.
The non-damaged 4-Runner wasn't the vehicle they were looking for, so he let the person go after running their ID and asking the usual questions about where they were coming from and going to. Meanwhile another deputy found a white Chevrolet Tahoe leaving a local fast-food place. At the time that vehicle was pretty clean and wasn't damaged in any way, but the owner once filed a complaint about deputies driving recklessly in his neighborhood, so they wanted to harass him as well. They didn't find any reason to stop him, though.
It's worth noting that the deputy who stopped the 4-runner is the same one who arrested an area police chief for "DUI" just a couple months prior, despite the police chief giving plenty of reasons suggesting his impairment was due to lack of sleep, not alcohol.
A deputy drove right past the actual suspect vehicle and found a white Toyota 4-Runner about a mile behind it. By his own admission, the Toyota he turned around on was in good shape, wasn't damaged, and most likely wasn't the vehicle they were supposed to be looking for.
He wanted to stop the vehicle anyway but didn't have any legal grounds to, so he "accidentally" misread one letter of the license plate, which naturally returned to something different than a white 4-Runner. This "accidental" misreading is the same tactic used by Frisco, Texas police in that viral traffic stop gone bad on July 23rd, 2023.
The non-damaged 4-Runner wasn't the vehicle they were looking for, so he let the person go after running their ID and asking the usual questions about where they were coming from and going to. Meanwhile another deputy found a white Chevrolet Tahoe leaving a local fast-food place. At the time that vehicle was pretty clean and wasn't damaged in any way, but the owner once filed a complaint about deputies driving recklessly in his neighborhood, so they wanted to harass him as well. They didn't find any reason to stop him, though.
It's worth noting that the deputy who stopped the 4-runner is the same one who arrested an area police chief for "DUI" just a couple months prior, despite the police chief giving plenty of reasons suggesting his impairment was due to lack of sleep, not alcohol.