A man in Winfield, Kansas, was caught driving a lawn mower by a police officer. To his surprise, and to the internet’s delight, the cop not only knew the man, as he is a popular content creator, but also treated him with the utmost kindness, becoming viral as a result.
The clip attached above features internet personality Westen Champlin. He is mainly a YouTuber whose content revolves around unorthodox and extravagant vehicles he chooses to modify and drive. And although the clip above only contains a portion of the much larger original YouTube video, it still did numbers. It garnered 6.8 million views, 719,800 likes, and more than 1,100 comments in a matter of days.
The Kansas man, alongside Kyle, a friend of his, was pulled over by local police. The two were driving their recently bought red lawn mowers from Lowe’s. Westen acknowledged the traffic stop, saying, “I think you’re getting pulled over, Kyle.”
After greeting the officer, any sense of worry on Westen’s behalf was quickly dispelled, as the cop answered back, “What’s up, Westen?“
A Hilarious Back-And-Forth
The man sitting on the lawn mower explained that they were driving them home to Mulvane. Officer Brown introduced himself while shaking Westen’s hand, and he explained that the men couldn’t be driving their red vehicles on the road. Westen, meanwhile, accused the officers of running “out of sidewalk.” Meant as a joke, this statement was met with laughter from all parties involved.
Westen explained that he was planning on modifying the lawn mowers to make them race, as they were too slow as is. The officer, who said his son watched Westen’s videos, still insisted they couldn’t drive them on the streets, as they don’t have tags or turn signals.
As he was explaining this, another driver screamed from his vehicle in an attempt to grab Westen’s attention. He very much did, and the officers continued laughing. Officer Brown said, “Everybody knows you, huh, bud?” Westen answered, “Unfortunately, I can’t sneak around anymore.”
Reactions
The video sparked multiple responses online.
Almost every user found the interaction hilarious. One said, “Every cop knows this guy.” Another one commented, “Officers passed the vibe check, can’t get enough of the videos showing the great side of law enforcement.”
Others commented on the legality of Westen’s lawn mower escapade. One wrote, “Bicycles don’t have tags or insurance either, but they are on the road.” Another commenter added, “Farm equipment had a road use exemption in most states. A lawn mower is considered a tractor and is farm equipment.”
In the end, the police officer instructed Westen and Kyle to drive home via the sidewalk. They did so, not before they made a stop at a Burger King, and later arrived at an auto shop, where the lawn mowers were converted to “racing lawn mowers.”
