What originally appeared to be a routine traffic stop in Tallahassee, Florida, has sparked outrage and placed local police officers under scrutiny. Bodycam footage appears to show officers planting evidence in a man’s vehicle to justify arresting him for driving under the influence.

The incident, which occurred on May 7, 2023, involves Officer Kiersten Oliver of the Tallahassee Police Department and 56-year-old Calvin Riley. The footage shows the officer pulling Riley over for driving with a suspended license.

The officer called for backup and discussed the details of the traffic stop with Officer Margaret Mueth after she arrived at the scene. Oliver requests that Meuth speak with Riley under the guise of verifying his address. Oliver indicated that she believed Riley was under the influence. “I feel like I’m getting some indications, I’m not really sure,” she said. “I can’t really smell anything right now.”

The footage shows the moment when Oliver accuses Riley of smelling like marijuana. The motorist explained that he does not smoke weed, to which the officer replied: “You lie.”

During the stop, which lasted for about 45 minutes, Oliver appears to raise several possible charges against Riley, appearing to be trying to find a way to arrest him.

In Florida, officers have discretion whether to ticket or arrest someone driving with a suspended license for the first offense. If an individual commits a second offense, it is mandatory for the officers to take them into custody and make an arrest. Riley received a suspended license notification just weeks before the stop on March 7th.

Officers Mueth and Oliver discussed the interaction in Oliver’s car before approaching Riley again. Mueth testified that they formulated a plan: ask Riley to submit to a voluntary field sobriety test, and if he refused, they would exercise their voluntary discretion to arrest him for a first-time offense of driving with a suspended license.

When officers asked Riley to perform a voluntary roadside sobriety test, Riley refused.

They didn’t tell him the consequences for refusing the then-optional test.

Despite initial claims that Riley smelt like marijuana, by the time they had placed Riley in the back of Oliver’s patrol car, officers began to claim that Riley smelled like alcohol.

“Is there enough, like before that?” Oliver asks Mueth after placing Riley in the backseat of her squad car.

The two officers searched Riley’s car to find marijuana. However, there was none in the vehicle.

But it didn’t stop there.

After failing to find any illicit substances in Riley’s vehicles, the officers commiserated, looking for other options. Officer Oliver said, “There’s vodka in his seat…vodka was found.” She held up a bottle of cognac and claimed a cup in Riley’s vehicle smelled like alcohol despite not smelling it. The motorist told the officers that it was tea.

The officers detained Riley and placed him in one of their vehicles where Mueth continued questioning him. As this is taking place, the footage shows Oliver opening the bottle and pouring out the alcohol before tossing it into the passenger seat out of Mueth’s line of sight.

Bodycam footage shows Florida police officer planting alcohol in a man's vehicle after a traffic stop to justify arresting him for DUI.

Despite what is clearly shown on the bodycam footage, the motorist is still facing trial. pic.twitter.com/IReO8HDy39

— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) April 4, 2024

The two officers then called Sergeant Brian Smith to the scene.

After moving Riley without incident, the three officers huddled to discuss the case. “Did y’all search the car? Nothing in there?” Smith asks Mueth.

“No, well, ok, so, he had a bunch of alcohol stashed in there, but,” Mueth says.

“Nothing opened?” Smith asks.

“Yeah, open,” Mueth says. “In his, like, Turvis, in the center console, he had a mixed drink, and then under his knee, he had like, um, a little bottle of vodka tucked away.”

After his arrest, Oliver suggests moving Riley’s car to the New Life United Methodist Church parking lot, which they were outside of, to avoid Riley having to pay to get his car out of a tow lot. “I would just let it be towed, because he has done nothing for us to try to…” Mueth says, trailing off.

Riley told Our Tallahassee that between posting his $750 bond, legal fees, and missed work at the barbershop, he missed a car payment and then another, and he decided to forfeit his car back to the dealership.

“You still live?” Sergeant Smith asks, pointing at Officer Mueth’s body camera. He quickly looks away when he realizes she is. Just twenty seconds later, Mueth asked Oliver “Are you still on?”, Oliver shakes her head. The body camera footage ends.

Despite what can clearly be seen in the video footage, Riley could still be facing charges. Officer Oliver, while giving a deposition, claimed she poured out the alcohol because they are prohibited from impounding liquids as evidence. However, there is no such prohibition outlined in the department's policies. Riley's jury trial is set to begin on April 5.