Sam Amico
An Oklahoma City police captain who was arrested for DUI repeatedly asked the arresting officer to turn off his bodycam, footage from the incident revealed.
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Capt. James “Matt” French, 55, was pulled over after an officer saw his city-owned SUV swerving and speeding. Footage showed French sitting in the vehicle in the driveway of what he claimed was the house in which he lived with his mother.
“I’m a captain on the police department,” French could be heard saying after the officer asked if he’d been drinking. French added he served as a captain in Oklahoma City.
All the while, French’s speech appeared to be slurred.
At one point, he tapped his chest and asked the officer to turn off the camera. The officer ignored him, asking French how much he had to drink.
Police Captain Capt. James French Arrested for DUI
French tapped his chest again.
“I’m not turning my camera off,” the officer responded.
French then began to explain that he’d been playing poker and had “three or four beers,” with the last one at about midnight. He was pulled over right around 1:40 a.m. He added later that he had driven only a few blocks from the poker game.
French was then given field sobriety tests, which he was clearly unable to complete. For a third time, he asked the officer to turn off the camera.
“I know you are aware of our bodycam policy,” the officer said. “You know I cannot turn off this bodycam.”
French responded, “I do. But I’d like to talk to you.”
The officer informed French that the bodycam will be turned off at the conclusion of the investigation — but no sooner.
“I’m a sergeant and I’ve taken an oath to uphold the law,” the officer said. “I don’t show favoritism to anyone regardless. I don’t care if you’re a gang banger or the president of the United States.”
Probably not what French wanted to hear.
He has since been placed on administrative leave by the Oklahoma City Police Department, with Chief Wade Gourley praising the arresting officer.
“The officer did exactly as he should have, and handled it very professionally, in my opinion. As far as how the officer responded, he did exactly as he should have,” Gourley said, via the New York Post.
The investigation into French’s arrest is ongoing.
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