CLEVELAND, Ohio — An off-duty Cleveland police officer with more than $1,500 in unpaid parking tickets hopped in her van and sped off through downtown Cleveland after a fellow police officer told that her car needed towed.
Officer Angelia Gaston, 33, said little during the interaction with the fellow police officer on Feb. 12, according to body camera video released Tuesday.
Gaston, who was hired as a police officer in 2011, stood outside her van on Huron Road and Prospect Avenue as the officer ran her license plate and found that the car had to be towed because of the tickets.
The officer tells her she has to the impound lot to pay fines and get her van back. She replies: “No, I’ll just drive down there now.”
She continued to talk over the officer and walked to her van while the officer is kept talking to her. The officer followed her, stood in front of her van and asked dispatch to send a backup officer.
The officer told her at least six times to stop getting her car and to not leave. The officer walked up to Gaston’s driver’s side door and she drove away, and turned on East 9th Street.
The officer ran back to his cruiser but lost sight of her. He told the dispatcher to send an officer to her home.
Cleveland police are not allowed to chase suspects unless they’re accused of committing a violent offense and they’re authorized by a supervisor.
Gaston is charged with obstructing official business, a first-degree misdemeanor. She pleaded not guilty and is on restricted duty until the criminal case is resolved.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/02/watch_cleveland_cop_with_1500.html