Florida candidate for U.S. House caught on police body cam threatening officer’s job

A Florida candidate for the US House of Representatives has apologized to police officers after he threatened an officer’s job and called into question her “Russian immigration status.”

Martin Hyde, who is running for GOP State Representative in Florida’s 16th district, was pulled over for speeding and texting while driving last week. When an officer approached Hyde, he threatened to get her fired, and asked her if she knew who he was. 

“You know who I am, right?” Hyde is heard saying on body camera footage. “I’ll just call the chief, how about that?” When the officer returned with a speeding citation, Hyde asked her “Is it your Russian immigrant status that makes you talk to people like this?”

When the officer called for backup, Hyde told a backup officer, “We’re going to make sure that she pays the price for being disrespectful.”

Hyde has since issued a public apology to the officer, blaming his bad mood for his behavior at the traffic stop.

“So this isn’t a question of Martin Hyde disliking cops, this is a question of Martin Hyde being in a ratty mood on a Monday morning and acting in a way that he regrets,” Hyde told WFLA. “I am sorry. And I would like to think that I will learn from it. I would like to think other people might learn something from it too.”