Police officers hear all kinds of excuses when they pull over motorists for speeding. But this might be a traffic stop first for one Florida state trooper. He pulled over a Ferrari for going 22 mph over the posted speed limit just to have the driver tell him that he “runs the county.” 

A Florida county commissioner got busted for speeding twice in two weeks, the second time hitting 92 mph in a 70 mph zone

While driving his 2013 Ferrari 458 Spider, Flagler County Commission Chairman Joe Mullins broke the law. Mullins was going 92 mph in a 70 mph zone, more than enough to snag the attention of a Florida state trooper. The trooper pulled Mullins over and approached the bright-red open-top Ferrari. 

“92 mph is 22 over the speed limit, okay?” the trooper told Mullins. “Normally, I give warnings. I give breaks. But it looks like you’ve been written a warning already. So, I do issue the citation,” the trooper said. He was referring to the fact that Mullins had been pulled over for going 89 mph in a 60 mph zone just a couple of weeks prior. At least Mullins wasn’t in his Ferrari at the time. Instead, the police busted the speedy commissioner in his gray Mercedes-Benz. 

“It’s going to be payable within 30 days,” the trooper said of the speeding ticket. “There are three ways to take care of it.” But before the police officer could add any more, Mullins cut him off. “I run the county,” he told the trooper. “So I know how it works.” 

“You run the county?” the trooper asked out of confusion. “Yeah, I’m the chairman of the county commission.” The trooper brushed off the response and carried on. “I just have to explain your options. I don’t want any miscommunication.” Perhaps Mullins got the picture with his second time in two weeks seeing the “berries and cherries” in his rearview mirror. Maybe, or maybe he’ll keep creeping closer to the 458 Spider’s 199-mph top speed. 

Mullins, undoubtedly hoping to maximize damage control, wrote a letter to the Flagler County magistrate judge. “I lost track of time,” Mullins wrote in the letter. “While taking calls and dealing with traffic knowing I was behind schedule, I was not paying attention to my speed nor the limit.” 

Check out the video of the exchange between the county commission chairman and the state trooper below!