Florida Highway Patrol released a dashcam video of a traffic stop between one of its troopers and Flagler County Commission Chairman Joe Mullins. Recorded on June 19, the footage shows the trooper issuing a speeding ticket to the chairman driving his red-colored Ferrari on Interstate 95. According to documents obtained by People, Mullins was driving his 2014 Ferrari 458 Spider at 92mph in a 70mph zone. “Usually I give warnings, I give breaks. But it looks like you’ve been written a warning already,” the trooper can be heard in the footage telling Mullins before saying that he would be receiving a citation. That’s when Mullins interrupts by saying: “I run the county, so I know how that works.”
After the cop finishes talking and allows Mullins to leave, the commissioner can be seen speeding off in the footage. This is not the first time Mullins has violated traffic rules and used his position as the country commission chairman to get out of a ticket. He was as pulled over on June 2 in a gray 2018 Mercedes Benz SUV for driving 89mph in a 60mph zone. In the report filed during that traffic stop, Mullins has been described as “extremely condescending, belligerent, illogical and disrespectful” during the stop and at one point “flashed his business card to get out of ticket.”
According to dispatch notes obtained by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the commissioner threatened the troopers that “it would be a career-ending move if I arrested him for failing to obey a lawful order” and claimed that they were putting “everybody’s lives at risk to pull him over.” Mullins had to pay a $256 fine for the speeding violation and was given the choice to complete a four-hour driver improvement course to avoid receiving points on his license.
