A video is going viral on TikTok of New Jersey councilman Theodore D. Holloway ranting and cursing at a police officer for pulling him over for running a stop sign. The councilman reacts in disbelief that the cop would dare to pull him over for an alleged offense. Despite his protestations, Holloway doesn’t get away with his misdemeanor.
The remarkable footage is captured by the police officer’s bodycam. The clip starts with the officer approaching the councilman’s stationary vehicle. It’s immediately clear that the cop and councilman know each other, with the officer questioning, “Why you acting this way?”
When Councilman Holloway demands to know why he’s been pulled over, the officer explains that it’s because he failed to stop at a stop sign. The councilman protests that he “did stop, as much as I can stop,” but the officer isn’t having any of it.
The footage gets really interesting, however, when the councilman tries to use his position to escape without punishment. First, when presenting his licence, Holloway threatens to tell “Gary” about this, suggesting that he’ll report the officer to a superior. As one TikToker points out, “Calling the chief to get out of a ticket is against the law, it’s corruption.”
Then, bizarrely, the councilman tries to defend the infringement. He points out he isn’t “running around with my gun-toting, weed-smoking,” as if that makes it OK.
Most telling of all, though, is when Councilman Holloway points at the officer, saying, “I’m the one who hired you.” The implication, of course, is that he should be above the law because he’s a councilman. Holloway even has the tenacity to look directly at the camera and say, “I put you on,” presumably referring to him instaling the officer in his current position.
To make matters worse, the councilman berates the cop for “pulling over an elected official.” As one commenter points out, “he’s trying to abuse his position.” When a second officer arrives, Councilman Holloway pulls out the old, “Do you know who I am?” line.
Incredibly, the councilman gets on the phone to the Chief of Police to complain, who manages to diffuse the situation by saying that he’ll “have a conversation” with the officers, but that effectively they’re just doing their job.
Sadly, the councilman’s foul-mouthed, nepotistic rant gets him off a citation for running the stop sign. However, it turns out his license expired last year, so he does at least get a citation for that. The whole incident highlights the sort of institutionalized corruption that is all-too-common in today’s society, and how different the rules are for us “normal” folk to those in charge.
