A resurfaced TikTok of a Washington police officer saying she “can drive 90mph” and that other motorists on the highway need to “get the f*** out of her way” has sparked new criticism.
The video, first posted in July, shows Washington Federal Way Police Department (FDWP) officer Breanna Strauss addressing her followers on the social media platform and telling them to “get the [expletive] out of the way” if they see an officer following close behind. The footage has regained attention after it was recently posted on Reddit, restarting a discussion on whether Ms Strauss deserved a harsher penalty than the one-shift suspension she was given.
“If we’re driving on the freeway with our police cars, get the [expletive] out of the way,” Ms Strauss says on the video. “If you merge, and we follow behind you and we merge too, you’re probably in trouble.”
“Best way to find that out is to get the [expletive] out of the way ... I can run 90 miles an hour,” she adds. “You can’t do that, so get the [expletive] out of the way.”
When the video went viral earlier this summer, FDWP launched an investigation and reviewed Ms Strauss’ previous disciplinary issues but found none, Seattle Weekly reported. After determining that the video violated the department’s code of conduct, Ms Strauss was disciplined with a 10-hour suspension.
The punishment was met with outrage by social media users who flooded a post of Ms Strauss’s swearing-in ceremony in August 2021 with demands for her employment in the department to be finished.
“What [is] sickening is that she was only suspended for one shift,” a Facebook user wrote. “Shows how much disdain law enforcement has for citizens who pay their salaries. Make a TikTok where they threaten to pull you over and find a reason for it, and get one shift suspension when it’s been discovered.”
The FWPD officer first posted the video on her personal TikTok account. She deleted it after it sparked criticism and was brought to the attention of her superiors.
“PSA, to everyone out there,” Ms Strauss begins saying in the video. “I’m speaking for myself but I’m probably speaking for a large majority of officers out there.”
Ms Strauss said officers “can find a reason” to pull drivers over if they didn’t get out of their way, raising concerns about her previous traffic stops — which have not been reviewed.
“We had not received any complaints against Officer Straus regarding arrests, citations, or traffic stops,” Commander Kurt Schwan of Federal Way Police told the Federal Way Mirror.
The investigation, concluded on 7 July, did find that Ms Strauss had violated social media conduct and personal conduct department standards.
