Tit for tat

A State Trooper issues Mayor speeding ticket, is then immediately pulled over by same Mayor.

Tit for tat, leapfrog, ego stomping or just plain ridiculous – whatever you want to call it, a recent series of events involving a South Carolina State Trooper and a town mayor has prompted an investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division and whole lot of negative press.

It all began when S.C. State Trooper S.M. Williams witnessed a Dodge Charger speeding, then proceeded to pull him over and issue a citation. From there, local newspaper The Times and Democrat explains that the mayor of Norway, Jim Preacher, decided to use the lights and siren equipped on his own vehicle to pull over the very same trooper that had just issued him a speeding citation.

After the mayor pulled the trooper over, he asked for the officer’s license and registration, performing what appeared to be a standard traffic stop. From there, accounts of what happened next differ as the trooper claims the mayor then proceeded to demand the trooper follow the mayor to the town hall so he could issue him a summons – an order the trooper says he refused to follow.

Mayor Preacher denies asking the trooper to follow him, stating, “If I was going to give him a summons, I would have given him a summons.”

Whatever the case, it would appear that the mayor pulled the trooper over as some form of retaliation as no reason was given for the traffic stop. As for why Mayor Preacher was caught doing 70 miles per hour in a 55 zone? The mayor says he was pursuing a vehicle he believed to be involved in a robbery in his jurisdiction.

The entire ordeal has prompted the State Law Enforcement Division to open an investigation into whether or not the mayor is an actual law enforcement officer after a request from the S.C. Department of Public Safety to look into the matter. Preacher argues that he is the chief constable for his town after his local police department was disbanded.

Sounds crazy