Sheriff Carmine Marceno of Lee County, Florida, doesn’t like street racers. He said as much in a press release last month, after deputies arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly racing his Lexus against a Charger at 104 mph: “I actually have zero tolerance for street racing in Lee County.” One would think that such a staunch position would apply in all possible cases, but apparently there’s an exception. Marceno seems to think street racing is nice when he does it, as he was filmed allegedly racing a Lamborghini just two weeks after that statement.
Marceno, in his Facebook statement, said that “Driving an excessive speed and putting yourself, your passengers, and others on the road in danger is an incredibly selfish decision.” Perhaps he thought he was mitigating those risks within the video obtained by the Florida Trident, where he appears to race a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder against the clip’s videographer in a C8 Corvette — he’s the one occupant of the Huracan, so a minimum of he is not endangering any passengers.
Hypocrisy, thy name is cop
Cops often see laws as something they implement without ever needing to obey, and video evidence of street racing from a purportedly anti-street-racing sheriff is an ideal encapsulation of that mindset. It’s bad when others do it, particularly those uppity kids of their Lexuses, however it’s nice for somebody who reportedly earns $261,000 per 12 months to “protect and serve” to subject people to that very same risk. One might make an argument that cops are higher suited to high-speed driving, given their experience with chases, but one may also realize that cops are bad at chases too.
Cops mustn’t be exempt from the laws they’re paid to implement. Alleged street racing is an extreme example, but laws should apply equally all the best way all the way down to obscured license plates or parking on sidewalks — a badge and a gun shouldn’t put anyone above the law. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Marceno manages to justify qualified immunity here. Hoping for him to see any kind of penalty from the alleged behavior is solely too optimistic.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
