back in your car. >> I'm >> drunk. >> No, I'm the captain. >> Huh? >> Captain. >> A what? >> Captive >> of what? The big Don't reach in your pocket. Get back in your car. >> On March 24th, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a police sergeant stopped a vehicle for reckless driving, and the driver turned out to be Captain James French, a ranking officer within the same department. >> On Wednesday, >> stay in your vehicle. Get back in your car. >> I'm >> drunk. >> No, I'm the captain. >> Huh? >> Captain. >> A what? >> Captain >> of what? The big Don't reach in your pocket. Get back in your car. 116. Show me 106 on Henry Lincoln Edward 497. Have a seat. I I will. I'm not. You've been drinking tonight? >> I just got a ride. >> You've been drinking tonight, sir? >> I'm a captain on a police department. >> What police department? >> Oklahoma City camera. [music] >> What division? >> Investigations. >> What are you doing pulling in here? >> My mom and I stay here. You been drinking. >> How much we had to drink tonight, sir? >> Please. >> Huh? >> Turn the camera off. >> I'm not turning my camera off. >> Okay. >> Go ahead and step out of the vehicle. You got to be kidding me. >> Yeah, we're not going to get a return on it. How much we drink tonight, sir? >> I was at a poker game. >> Uh-huh. Cuz you were swerving all over me. When you turn on, you didn't use your signal. >> I'm sorry. >> How much did you drink at your poker game? >> Not much. >> Not much. How much is not much? >> I don't know. Beer, liquor. How many beers? >> Three or four. >> Three or four. How long ago was that? >> It's been going on a while. >> How long ago did you drink your last beer, sir? >> What time is it now? >> It's 0140. >> Midnight. You think you should drive him? No, but I came from four blocks. >> Your mom Your mom lives here? >> I live here. >> You live here? >> Yes. >> Come over to the rear of your vehicle. Okay. You got any weapons or anything on you? I do not, sir. Just turn around. I'm going to patch you down real quick. >> Go ahead. Do what you need to. I promise you I won't have problems. >> Okay. >> Can I shut my door? >> I'll shut it for you. >> Just hang out there at the rear of your Chevy. What investigations are you with? >> You know, Lieutenant Britain. The initial stop was legally sound. Under Oklahoma statutes title 47, section 11309, a driver must maintain a single lane of travel. Observed swerving and failure to signal gave the sergeant reasonable articulable suspicion under Terry versus Ohio 3921, 1968. Once the stop was made, the sergeant ordered the driver out of the vehicle. Under Pennsylvania versus Mims 434US S1061 1977, an officer conducting any lawful traffic stop may order the driver out as a matter of course with no additional justification required. Before the arrest, the sergeant asked several questions and the driver answered voluntarily. Under Burkimer versus McCarti 468US420 1984, Miranda warnings are not required during roadside pre-arrest questioning because a routine traffic stop is not considered custodial interrogation. The sergeant administered the horizontal gaze nestagmas test, then moved to the one leg stand. The subject repeatedly interrupted the test mid-administration to demand the camera be turned off. Under the NHTSA standardized field sobriety testing manual, each test must be administered without interruption to produce admissible results. The sergeant terminated the oneleg stand and transitioned to the walk and turn. That was the correct call. A corrupted test produces evidence no court can use, and stopping early preserves the integrity of everything the officer already documented. On the walk and turn, the subject completed the test with a step count discrepancy on the first pass, which constitutes a documented clue under NHTSA protocol. Combined with the failed oneleg stand attempt, and the subject's voluntary admissions of alcohol consumption, probable cause for arrest was firmly established under Schmurber versus California, 384U, S757, 1966. The subject's repeated attempts to have the camera deactivated during an active DUI investigation implicate Oklahoma statutes title 21 section 540, which prohibits obstructing a law enforcement officer. A ranking officer pressuring a subordinate to turn off a body camera is not a professional courtesy request. It is an attempt to remove documentation from a criminal investigation. The sergeant stated clearly on camera that he applies the law equally regardless of rank or position. That is exactly what the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause requires. Any officer who grants preferential treatment based on professional rank exposes themselves, their department, and the public to serious constitutional liability. >> There shouldn't be any discussion to whether it should be available to >> He's a good man. I like him. >> He is. >> He works for Germaine. >> Germaine Johnson. >> Yes. Germaine's a good man, too. >> He is. Hang on right there. So, got your brother. Just stand your feet together. Hands down by your side for me. Hands hands down by your side. Please look straight ahead and you see the tip of my pin, sir. >> I do. >> I want you to follow the tip of my pen without moving your head. Okay. >> Don't move your head, sir. Come over here. It's a little bit more level. You having those shoes in the cause you from keeping your balance or anything? >> I don't think so. >> You don't think so? Okay. I'm going to demonstrate for you first. While I'm demonstrating, I want you to stand with your feet together, hands down by your side, just like this. All right, sir. What's your name? >> Matt French. >> Matt French. Mr. French, stand just like that for me. >> Okay. When I tell you to begin, when I tell you to begin, okay, I'm just going to demonstrate for you. First, I want you to pick a foot of your choosing. It doesn't matter if it's your left or your right foot. >> I'm familiar. >> And I want you to lift it approximately 6 in off the ground. And while you look at your toe, I want you to count by 1,00 1,002,004, 10005, so on and so forth until I tell you to stop. At any point in time you lose your balance, your foot touches the ground, just go ahead and pick your foot back up and continue the count. Okay? Do you understand these instructions I've explained to you, Mr. French? >> You may begin. >> Just keep going. >> Turn that off. >> I cannot, sir. >> Please. >> I know you're aware of our body cam policy and you know I cannot turn off this body cam, >> but I'd like to talk to you. >> I can't be that, sir. Please, please. I like to talk to you. >> What? Are you going to do the test or not? >> Will you please talk to me? >> I'll talk to you once we're done. >> You can turn it off. You can turn it on. >> I can turn it off once I'm done with my investigation, sir. >> Okay. I'm asking you. I'm a captain police department. >> I understand that, sir. I >> and I am a sergeant on this police officer and I'm taking an oath to uphold the law. >> I don't show favoritism to anyone regardless. I don't care if you're a gangbanger or the president of the United States. >> Sir, I'm not asking you for that. >> If I was to treat you differently than I was to treat like some Southside loco or some pedo, how's that look on me? >> Okay, I'm not asking for that cuz I wouldn't do that for any of them. >> Sergeant Skinner, please. Are you going to do the test or not, sir? >> I will. I will do whatever you ask. >> Okay. Once we complete the test, I'll turn off my body cam once I'm done with my investigation. >> Okay. >> You want to You want to try that again? >> I will. All right. You may begin. One, two, three, four. Sir, please. Please. I'm asking you. >> I can't do that. >> Okay. >> So, we're not going to do the test. >> We will. >> Okay. Cuz you keep stopping. Wait. Let's try another test then. >> Who is this? >> One of my partners. >> Who is it? >> Not sure. Can't tell with the lights on. No, it's it's Officer Kitch. >> Mhm. >> You're familiar with the walk and turn? >> I am. Okay. Well, I demonstrate the walk and turn for you. I want you to stand with your left foot in front of your right foot. Okay. Left foot in front of your right foot. Heel to toe. Hands down by your side. Can you do that for me, sir? >> You want left foot in front of the right? >> Yes, sir. Hands down by your side. Okay. Attempt to hold that position while I demonstrate for you. You're going to take nine heel to toe steps. Counting out loud. 1 2 3 4. And we'll say that's nine. On your ninth step, without lifting your lead foot, you're going to pivot like so. And then you're going to take nine heel to toe steps, counting each step out loud back the way you came until you get to nine. Do you understand these instructions I've explained to you, Mr. French? >> I believe so. >> All right. Anytime you're ready, you may begin. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 All right, go ahead and turn around for me. Put your hands behind your back. >> Are you going to arrest me, sir? >> Yes, I am. Can I talk to you? Go ahead and put your hands behind your back, sir. >> Camera off now. >> Yeah, we'll turn the camera off now. >> Thank [sighs] you. >> The sergeant receives an A minus. He maintained NHTSA protocol throughout, refused every camera deactivation request, articulated equal protection principles on record, and made the right call terminating the compromised one-legg stand. The minor deduction reflects the post-arrest camera deactivation exchange, which while permissible under department policy, creates a brief documentation gap. Captain James French receives a D. He did not physically resist arrest, and that is about the only positive note here. He repeatedly attempted to obstruct a lawful investigation, leveraged his institutional rank against a subordinate, and acknowledged knowing department body camera policy while demanding it be violated. A law enforcement captain who uses his badge to evade accountability has broken the very oath he invoked. Every incident like this carries lessons worth remembering. Whether you are an officer in the field, a driver who has been stopped, or someone who just wants to understand how the law actually works outside of a courtroom, here are five that matter. Lesson one, rank means nothing when it comes to the law. Oklahoma statutes title 47 section 11902 applies to every driver on Oklahoma roads regardless of profession, title, or years on the force. The statute does not have a carveout for captains and neither does the constitution. Lesson two, body cameras are not optional during active investigations. OCPD policy requires continuous recording of all law enforcement contacts. Demanding a subordinate deactivate that camera is not a professional request. It is obstruction. And in this case, it is documented on the very footage the subject wanted erased. Lesson three, a compromised field sobriety test is worse than no test at all. When a subject repeatedly interrupts the one leg stand, the result cannot withstand court scrutiny. Stopping and pivoting to the walk and turn was the professionally correct decision under the NHTSA standardized field sobriety testing manual. Lesson four. What you say before arrest can and will be used against you. Admitting to beer and liquor at a poker game at 1:40 in the morning voluntarily before Miranda protections attach is admissible evidence of impairment under Burkimer versus McCarti. Staying silent was always an option. The subject chose not to exercise it. Lesson five. How you respond to pressure on camera defines your record permanently. The sergeant's equal protection statement delivered calmly and directly under significant institutional pressure is now on record. That footage is the strongest possible defense against any future claim of differential treatment or bias in how this stop was handled. If you found this analysis useful, hit like and subscribe to our channel for more legal breakdowns of real police interactions. Drop your questions or the cases you want us to cover in the comments below.