Officer after chat releases motorist
A videotaped traffic stop by Thrall police on a Taylor street that generated a flurry of social-media outbursts may have been more “Much Ado About Nothing” instead of “The Fast and the Furious.”
The encounter ended with just a warning and no arrests, officials said this week.
The video, which was posted last week, shows an officer with the Thrall Police Department putting a handcuffed male motorcyclist in the back of his patrol unit at a Taylor gas station.
Several viewers posted negative comments about the stop, but as it turns out, the motorist only received the warning and was released, according to a statement from Thrall police.
Some of the online posters questioned the officer’s actions outside his township, but all peace officers commissioned through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement have the legal authority to enforce Texas statutes beyond their jurisdiction.
Localized policies at some agencies may restrict an officer’s duties when he or she is not on their home turf.
According to reports, on June 21, Police Officer Kristopher House was headed east on U.S. 79 outside Hutto’s eastern city limits when he saw two motorcycles traveling at a high rate of speed coming up behind him.
As the vehicles drew alongside House’s patrol unit, a male driver reportedly revved his engine and bounced the bike as if trying to do a wheelie. House noted an expired registration on the motorcycle, so he pulled over the driver to give him a warning, according to police.
After releasing the rider, who took off at a high rate of speed, House said he saw the motorcycles passing between cars on the divider line, so he stopped both bikes.
Since he now had two riders paused, and one man was becoming animated, House detained him briefly in his squad car, Thrall officials said.
While speaking to the motorist, House learned the man suffered from stress and often rides to calm down. After the conversation, the rider was released without incident and both cyclists departed, police said.
