Body camera videos show a Cook County, Illinois, politician refusing to cooperate with police and warning that she is “an elected official ” during her arrest for an alleged charge of driving under the influence of alcohol ( DUI) earlier this month.
According to WBEZ, 45-year-old Samantha Steele, a Democrat politician who serves as the director of the Cook County Board of Review, was arrested on November 11 for an alleged DUI.
A police body camera video shows He frequently refusing to cooperate with a police officer ’s guidance to show him her license and insurance after crashing into another vehicle. In the film, Steele may be heard saying, “I’m an elected official, ” in response to the official threatening to lock and arrest her for refusing to cooperate.
In another figure camera picture, a police officer may be heard warning Steele, “Ma’am, if you don’t exit the vehicle … I’m going to help you to leave, and you don’t like that. ” In response to the authorities agent ’s alert, Steele said, “You don’t like that! I’m an elected official. ” The policeman officer then asked, “Elected standard of what? ” prompting Steele to reply, “Cook County. ”
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Asked to provide the agent with her name, Steele said her name was “Sam” but refused to give the officer her whole title. The Cook County politician even told the police officer that she did certainly “want to be on the film. ” At least two police officers can be heard explaining that she was already “on video ” as they continued to move forward with her arrest.
According to WBEZ, Steele after drank from what appeared to be a water container and used her cell phone to call Democrat Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton, whom she frequently described as her lawyer. After receiving guidance from Britton, Steele ultimately provided the police officers with her driver’s registration and exited the car. Nevertheless, she refused to submit to a field sobriety test.
During the imprisonment, soldiers also reportedly found a bottle of wine located near the front passenger seat. The bottle of wine was supposedly half-empty at the time of the event.
Following Steele’s incarceration, The Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial calling on Steele to retire over “the embarrassing situation. ”
“Steele was arrested on the North Side for DUI earlier this month, which is bad enough, ” the editor stated. “ But her steps during the meeting as shown in late released police body camera footage — from her refusal to engage with soldiers, to a pathetic attempt to throw around her fat as a public official — are enough to consider Steele unfit to keep elected office. In reality, she should retire. ”
