JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An off-duty Jacksonville police officer in his own car pulled out in front of a driver, then threatened the driver with a ticket for causing the problem, and the entire incident was caught on video.
The driver captured the ordeal on dash cam video and posted it on YouTube.
The officer involved was Assistant Chief Leonard Propper, who is head of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's special events unit.
Sheriff John Rutherford said Propper's actions were wrong. Propper said it happened about four months ago, and he did not want to comment.
The YouTube video posted by Jax Dash Cams shows a driver with a dashboard camera, and it also posts his speed at the top of the screen. A car pulled out in front him while he was recording.
"Seriously?" the driver said.
The driver of the white BMW in the video is Propper. At a traffic light just up the road, he got out, showed his badge, and the confrontation began.
"No sir. No sir," the driver said.
"Mother (expletive). How fast do you think you need to go on this road?" Propper said.
"I had a --," the driver said.
"You want to make this serious? Pull over right now and I will give you a $200 ticket," Propper said.
"I had it," the driver said.
"Pull over right now and I will give you a $200 ticket," Propper said.
"I had it pinned at 45 (mph), sir," the driver said.
"You better pay attention to what you are doing," Propper said.
"I had," the driver said.
"You keep running your (inaudible) like that, that is how people get killed in the street," Propper said. "Now pay attention and drive defensively."
"Why did you pull out in front of me?" the driver said.
Propper then went back to his car.
Channel 4 crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson, a former Jacksonville police officer, weighed on on the incident.
"That was not the most professional exchange," Jefferson said. "That guy is off-duty in his own personal car, and this guy rides his tail after he pulls out in front of him."
Propper later pulled the driver over down the road, and the exchange began again.
"Give me your license. Someone will be here in 15 minutes," Propper said.
"I had it pinned at 45. I have a camera and a GPS right here, sir. I do," the driver said.
"Give me your license," Propper said. "There is something called aggressive driving, too."
"I wasn't aggressive driving you pulled out in front of me," the driver said.
"You mean to tell me you had to cross a double yellow line to avoid an accident?" Propper said.
"I had to slam on brakes to avoid hitting you," the driver said.
"You are crazy. Tell the judge," Propper said. "You cannot go over a double yellow line. You were not trying to avoid an accident."
"Yes I was," the driver said.
"You where in a hurry," Propper said.
"No I wasn't," the driver said.
"You were in a hurry and all those comments you are making out of there and all that stuff made and all that stuff. That agitates the public. There is no justification. You are not in the punishment business," Propper said.
According to the speedometer on the dash cam, the driver's speed increased after Propper pulled out into his path.
"It appeared to me from what I saw that this individual had enough room to stop his car even though he had the right of way and the person coming from the side is suppose to yield and come out when it's safe," Jefferson said.
The driver was unable to be reached for comment Thursday.
The sheriff and others say Propper was given counseling. Rutherford said it was not discipline but said his behavior was not appropriate.
It's unclear why the driver had a dash cam in his car. There are other examples of bad driving in Jacksonville posted on YouTube. It's something more people are doing, and it's becoming more common overseas as well.