Video Of Mike Williams’ Arrest
January 15th, 2011
The good people at The News Center have obtained the video of Mike Williams’ DUI arrest. As Joe documented earlier Friday, all charges against Williams have been dropped.
Please monitor the video — it’s 24 minutes long — and let Joe know your conclusion.
Joe will write this: If Williams was deemed weaving, Joe could get pulled over virtually each day.
This reminds Joe how scary it can be that someone in power can dramatically alter one’s life on a whim.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:44 am
In law enforcement there are two types of traffic stops. Ones that you HAVE to make and those you WANT to make! Needless to say which category this one falls under.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:46 am
Okay, so anybody here want to make any attempt to defend the police officer? I didn’t see one thing in this video to lead me to believe that Williams was intoxicated in any way. Why didn’t they make him recite the Japanese alphabet backwards? What a joke. TPD deserves a nice lawsuit for this one, and I really hope Williams does it. Everyone who was screaming for him to be suspended should send him an apology letter right now.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:50 am
Hawaiian Buc:
What galls Joe is that crazies — including a handful on this very site — not only tried to link Williams to the King of Turds Jerramy Stevens, but go so far as to suggest that Raheem Morris was somehow responsible!
January 15th, 2011 at 3:06 am
Joe,
I guess you got a bunch of choir boys on this site. I’d be willing to bet my house none of them will come back here and admit their mistake. I just can’t wait for the first person to comment that the arrest was warranted after watching this video, because you know there will be at least one. This is a perfect example, though, of why the fans should not jump to conclusions before we know the details. If we had suspended him for the 49ers game (which is a game I traveled to on the red eye from Hawaii) and I then saw this video, I would be furious. I’m still furious even though he did play. Think of the embarrassment he has had to go through as a result of this. And what’s going to happen to the cop? My bet is nothing. I give a lot of credit to MW for not going “Zsa Zsa Gabor” on the officer. I thought he handled the entire situation very well, considering.
January 15th, 2011 at 3:23 am
this is pretty much why I carry a camcorder in my car and laugh when cops say its illegal to film them. Its completely legal unless im in there house or private property and comes in handy when you go to court to fight the retarded tickets. when you give someone power then dont be surprised when they abuse it. congrats to williams for getting the charges dropped.
January 15th, 2011 at 3:40 am
Hibucfan, i agree with you on every level my question is why it took 4 officers to come and stand around while the test was done which i saw no reason for him to be arrested for. and i too was at the SF game i flew there from NC the day before. Great game by the way and i should be there for the game next year, since SF cant travel to the RayJ.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:07 am
One word describes this, that word is sad well I lied scary is another. I can’t believe this, what does this video alone say about our system? I think that this video alone is evidence enough for quite a hefty lawsuit and firing of this so called policeman. Yes Mike Williams deserves an apology but so does our organization for taking any kind of slack for supporting their player. From all the judgmental prudes on this site to the analysts questioning Rah’s judgment. Especially from the so-called fans that when Mike’s on the field scream their head off and support him even wearing his jersey but as soon as he steps off want his head on a platter cause he’s a “thug” that made mistakes in the past.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:39 am
I’ve always been one to support Law Enforcement but man I feel really bad for Mike Williams after watching this video. That police officer should make a difference career choice, Law Enforcement is not for him considering his poor judgement making this arrest.
Whether charges stick or not an arrest is always damaging to a the persons character. That officer made a really poor decision on making this arrest. Shame on the Tampa Police department.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:40 am
difference=different
January 15th, 2011 at 6:29 am
I guess he didnt recite the alphabet backwords fast enough.
January 15th, 2011 at 7:37 am
Im pretty sure it was HCSO not city of tampa. But regardless this was a dick move bye Nobody Cop to make a name for himself!!! Mike sue the bastard!! Old team glazer should reconsider any contributions made next year.
January 15th, 2011 at 7:49 am
And Joe you should send a gentle reminder for fans to vote for Mike Williams for Rookie Of Year!!! since were talking about him.
im not sure how much time is left!!!
January 15th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Apology for driving at 2 am after having drinks?
That was a dumb ass move on Mike Williams part and even dumber for you guys trying put blame anyone but him at a time when the team needs to learn from this crap. Besides, Geno Hayes the dirtbag of late has the crown right now.
You want apologies, why not tell the Buccaneers to give back his fine? When the Bucs give back his fine THEN you can ask fans to apologize for a boy speeding, at 2 am, after having drinks.
January 15th, 2011 at 8:56 am
Is’nt it strange how many times he has MW try to follow that little light and how far he moves it out of the line of sight so he has to move his head. giving him a reason to continue more bullspit sobriety tests. and another thing.. how is it that when someone gets pulled over for a legitimate arrest, the RAW FEED audio and video is CRYSTAL CLEAR ,but when they FK UP the picture and audio MYSTERIOUSLY has problems…..i’m just sayin…
January 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am
things that make you go HMMMMMM.
January 15th, 2011 at 9:07 am
People, people. It’s very clear, right there in the video, of what Mike Williams was guilty of!
Driving While Black. It’s all right there on the tape!
January 15th, 2011 at 9:10 am
Buc You, there’s a such thing as a legal limit and Mike Williams was within it– and when one is within the legal bounds, such as two drinks, IT IS NOT BREAKING THE LAW.
So why critisize? Unless you don’t want a taste of humble pie?
January 15th, 2011 at 9:17 am
TALK ABOUT BLACK ON BLACK CRIME!!!!!
January 15th, 2011 at 9:22 am
What about the the other officers that were called to the scene that were just standing on the side. They should be held just as responsible as the meatball officer conducting the test. They could of at least said hey this guy may not even be intoxicated. The officer could have made his decision with a litte help is all i am saying. What was the point of of having them there unless he thought williams may have got rowdy????
January 15th, 2011 at 9:38 am
NEVER pass a cop on the road.. they feel disrespected.
January 15th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Two apologies are in order. The first from all those accusing racism and DWB. That includes you Joe. Clearly that is not the case. The second to Mike Williams for this wrongful arrest. I think the actual crime was DWR (Driving While Rich). It seems more likely that the cop was envious.
No way this should have been an arrest. Mega kudos to Williams for the respect he showed throughout this unfortunate episode. Now he might consider the wisdom of being out that late and the potential for bad things happening.
January 15th, 2011 at 10:00 am
A large portion of cops want you to FEAR them.when u pass them you are showing no fear of them. some, not all , feel that because what they are they are entitled to more respect which is a ton of bullspit! they are people doing a job just like the rest of us. No more,No less. But don’t get me wrong I respect the Job and profession but you must EARN respect for that position by your actions…ya know?
January 15th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Buc You said: “…a boy speeding, at 2 am, after having drinks.”
Where I grew up, in Texas, To refer to a black man as “BOY” is just about the same as calling him the other word that we try not to use any more.
Joe, you need to stop making excuses for this little PUNK. He is a racist like he has been labeled by others. You keep questioning it and saying no evidence or whatever and let him continue to spew his vile hatred for the Bucs, Raheem and their Black Players. I’m telling you, Buc You is a POS Racist and it’s time to follow YOUR own rules and guidelines and rid of us this little PUNK, since none of us have the opportunity to ram our fists down his throat and teach that twat a lesson, you should. Pullease, it’s time.
January 15th, 2011 at 10:41 am
You know when they make you do tons of different tests, that you are probably, for the most part, clean. @BROCKTACULAR: I know right, they were just waiting for him to fail, so they could arrest him. If you didn’t notice, Mike Will was the only car that the cops saw, and they probably wanted to have “fun”. What was with bringing backup to help him out? The cop could have handled it by himself…..
January 15th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Buc U you really are a serious joke. Nothing you say has any sort of merit or worth to it, your words carry no weight. Last time I checked it’s NOT against the law to drive past 2AM or is that listed somewhere you can show me? Not to mention in the video he says he’s has nothing to drink. I can’t believe that u can even bring yourself to write half the vile u write. Than again, yes I can your U. Unfortunate…
January 15th, 2011 at 10:59 am
didnt mike williams lie from the start when asked if he had anything to drink? No Sir!I was just coming from the club. what was his test level again? Ha! HA! I think the cop after seeing who he had stopped, thought this would be a good story to tell later and was going to arrest no matter what
January 15th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Normally the first thought would be that a young NFL player just mouthed off and the cop would then be trying to teach him a lesson. It’s really hard to believe since the kid was very respectful to cops that they would try to press hard to find a way to arrest him. Anyone could see that when they first asked him to get out of the car he was not intoxicated. Experienced officers would notice that there was no swaying, no slurred speech, and no irregular movement on the part of Williams. Everyone needs to notice that when standing still; Williams stands perfectly still. No movement what so ever! This by itself is enough to tell any officer that he is not over the legal limit. The eye test is a good way to judge and police use it often, but the problem is Williams is an NFL player who takes hits to the head almost dailey. The hits that Williams takes in games and at practice causes very similar swelling that makes the eyes twitch as they go from far left to far right. That along with the limited alcohol and being tired will give the effect of being intoxicated. Too much work went into validating the reason the cops used to pull him over then arrest him.
January 15th, 2011 at 11:23 am
OAR
Man alive!!!! I guess you were right buddy, that sure was some wreckless driving? I can’t believe #19 would put that many lives in danger. Geez, who gave that guy license?
January 15th, 2011 at 11:32 am
D
I agree this wasn’t as much as a case of DUI as it was a case of DWB.
Notice how the cop turned on the audio and centered the camera just after Mike passes him. I would say that was enough time to identify the driver as a black man in an expensive car.
There surley was no weaving going on. And I know the police report says Mike was ‘going 12 mph over the speed limit’ but it sure as hell didnt look like it. Im wondering how the cop could have known Mike’s speed since he was also driving. One thing is for sure, the cop didn’t record any speed with a laser gun or radar device, and if not sure how well even a traffic citation would hold upin court.
January 15th, 2011 at 11:33 am
and im not sure***
January 15th, 2011 at 11:39 am
JOE
“Hawaiian Buc:
Everyone who was screaming for him to be suspended should send him an apology letter right now.
What galls Joe is that crazies — including a handful on this very site — not only tried to link Williams to the King of Turds Jerramy Stevens, but go so far as to suggest that Raheem Morris was somehow responsible!”
BSPN’s ‘The Fabulous Sports Babe’ springs to mind…
January 15th, 2011 at 11:48 am
I have to agree with others on Buc You. Anyone can be a hater, but using terms that can be construed as racism is over the line. The term “boy” is totally inappropriate.
January 15th, 2011 at 11:57 am
MVP,
Wow, nice to see your an ass on the weekends and still can’t spell! Plus, I still think your “how can speeding and weaving be RECKLESS driving” statement was STUPID!
You stay cool!
January 15th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Nice to see you can’t distinguish between statements and QUESTIONS, even on the weekend.
January 15th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
🙂
January 15th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
MVP
Hey, I havent had any coffee yet, sorry!
January 15th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
He’s not a man, not when he makes those poor decisions.
So he’s a boy.
BoyMacAttack, shut the hell up.
January 15th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
lol nice try, But u can’t expect Joe to find a way to help u wiggle your way out of every comment u make.
January 15th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
whoops thats my bad Joe for some reason It took the beginning of my next sentence with started with irony when i accidentally hit enter and sent it in as a comment before i was done lolz. My bad lolz
January 15th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Just after the first two minutes, Mike put his blinker on and made a complete stop at red light before turning right. Man, I wish more people would do that.
January 15th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Young men out chasing women to the early mourning hours is a fact of life; not a poor decision. Unless one live’s an alternative way of life like Buc You that is…..
January 15th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
It’s funny how he’s trying to weasel his way out of his comment, wonder if Joe’s gonna buy yet another one of his excuses??
January 15th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Since when is referring to a young kid as a boy racist?
You morons are continually pushing the race envelope, as if you are the ethnic police on blog phraseology.
LMAO!
January 15th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
He IS a boy racist!
January 15th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Buc You, you are a worthless little punk. All mouth, always talking when you should be listening. Useless little turd. Keep it up punk.
You are real big and bad behind that key board. Fuc You Buc You.
January 15th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
@Buc You,
In the context you used it, probably since about 1950. And last time I checked,22 years old IS a man. I love your attempt to backtrack by saying those who make poor decisions are a boy. Do you realize how stupid that sounds?
It’s nice to know that you have never been out at 2am. You know, maybe if you had a friend in your lifetime, that wouldn’t be the case.
January 15th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I have friends!
January 15th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
I’m sick of you, Buc You. Its a story because the arrest was not warranted, from a police perspective. It was ridiculous, any fool can clearly see that (at least those who take their head out of their arse). The fine from the Bucs is a totally different thing. They can fine you for wearing the wrong color socks. Why would you say “thug apologists”? Are you implying MW is a thug? Even if he was driving drunk, is that a thug? So you consider everyone who drives drunk a thug? I wonder if Gruden got pulled over for DUI, would you call him a thug too? I’m sure the thug comment has nothing to do with race though, right? You seriously need to stop now. It’s one thing to intentionally agitate the real fans of this team, but you are crossing the line on this subject.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Buc You:
Treading on thin ice just to get a rise out of people, aren’t you Buc You?
Joe told you before not to even go there about race. You’re not that dumb not to know, even if you didn’t try to bait people, readers would interpret that wording the wrong way.
You know as well as Joe does you could have chosen the word “child” instead to make your point.
Just knock it off. Joe’s patience in defending you is wearing.
Just know that Joe won’t defend you again when walking the tightrope of ethnic/religion issues. If you aren’t smart enough to figure out what Joe’s referring to, that will be your problem.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
hahaha The only reason your sitting here coming up with all these excuses is cause you finally realize you may have pushed the envelope too far this time or else you’d keep egging on like usually do. What’s wrong Buc U your outta character atm, it’s not like you lolz.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Buc You says;
You want apologies, why not tell the Buccaneers to give back his fine? When the Bucs give back his fine THEN you can ask fans to apologize for a boy speeding, at 2 am, after having drinks.
The fact that Buc You called MW a boy says a ton about you and some of our society in Tampa. Buc you, this is a grown man who would most likely give you the whoopin you deserve for referring to him as a Boy. Here is the definition of a boy to assist you with your ignorance.
boy /bɔɪ/ Show Spelled
–noun
1. a male child, from birth to full growth, esp. one less than 18 years of age.
(notice the lees than 18 years of age)
Man, you probably want to call him something else… huh? It has been my experience that we as ” critical people” will easly shout someones guilt, until were sitting in their shoes. Then we cry bloody murder and wish to get Tampa’s finest Lawyers to get us off. The Media should focus ALL of their attention on the officer who pulled him over. The Media has ways of getting to these people. This officer caused grief for Mike not only in our community, but also Nation wide. The officer and his accountability also needs to be put on blast for not just our community, but also the nation to see. Some of the people he will go after will not get the chance to prove themselves like Mike did.
And who in the hell doesn’t speed (Buc You, maybe???)? I have and will continue to drive by them, in an awesome vehicle(s), I’m a black male, I don’t drink, and I am married to an Attorney… Please stop me with that BS. Also Mike we will represent you at any of our three firms.. Great article Joe, and I do agree that the Boy stuff has no place on this site.. SMH
January 15th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
I just can’t wait for the first retard poser pretending to be a police officer to come on and comment about this one….lol… what some people will stoop to so they can “win” an internet message board argument.
As far as Buc You goes- Everyone just bide your time. Buc You will get himself banned. It’s inevitable. Kudos to Joe for taking the time to realize that this guy is only veiling his racism JUST thinly enough to try to avoid the ban hammer. I’m still disappointed that Joe hasn’t bounced this clown already but when he, inevitably does, it will be better late than never.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Joe here,
As many of you know there are two Joes and this one just hit the magic good-bye button on Buc You. He was warned in a variety of ways, multiple times. Joe has neither the time nor the patience to deal with Buc You (or anyone else) doing everything he can to dance along inflammatory racial lines. Why should Joe have to police such nonsense repeatedly? He shouldn’t. He won’t.
Joe offers a lot of rope in the name of having a free expression forum. But Buc You, unfortunately, chose to hang himself.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
You just made my day Joe!
January 15th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
The sad thing that I find in this whole video is the fact that it took 27 min and 4 officers (that we can see) off the street to find other real drivers who where breaking the law. So if this started at 1:56 am +27 min the arrest took place at 2:23 am. I saw Mike Williams stand in the same spot for at least 7 min of this video not so much as move or waver from that spot. Yet he goes to jail for failing his sobriety test, what part of the test did he fail?
As to the DWB statements I don’t see it as that at all, I agree with the DWR statement, the car looks like a Escalade and those cost about 35-40k right? Just about as much as this officer makes a year. If it would have been a beater like I drive (92 4runner & 84 Nighthawk cb700s) I know I would have gone to Jail as well, the holding of his foot up in that part of the test for a minute or so would have caused my injured disk in my back to give out. And off to the cell again for Rusty…
Sad to say but this was a bad arrest, and the video only goes to show us how easy it is for our lives to change on the “bad decisions” of others. Had it have been one of us what would our costs be to have the charge of DUI removed from our record? $3000 $4000 $7000???
How many of us have that kind of cash just laying around?
January 15th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Thanks Joe. It will be nice to know we will no longer have to tolerate entire threads being taken over and ruined by that clown and his inflammatory trolling. Now maybe we can have discussions about things like Raheems performance or contract situation without having to wade through 25 ludicrous posts from Buc You. Im not saying I don’t want people with dissenting opinions. There are others like Thomas and Tampa2 who we all love to hate also but they haven’t exposed their motivations as being obviously racially based and they don’t troll like he did. The one thing we should all realize is that people like Buc You are emotional cripples that get off by irritating other people and our angry responses to people like him only fuel the fire. When the next Buc You comes around the less said in response to him the better.
January 15th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Thank You Joe, I salute you.
I also apologize to you Joe’s and everyone else here for my juvenile comments directed at Buc You. SThomas should be next and when Buc You returns with another screen name and email address tomorrow, you will know who he is. Don’t put up with it.
Thanks to Horice as well. Nice comment.
January 15th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Thanks Joe
January 15th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Joe here,
@Horice – Joe can’t resist. If you’ve got three criminal defense firms and are seeking clients, then you should e-mail Joe and start advertising here. joe@joebucsfan.com …Joe suspects there’s a decent share of his audience that gets into trouble. 😉
January 15th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
What a joke, this cop must be a Saints fan to have such a hard on for MW, went way out of his way now he looks like an idiot. I hope they suspend him or demote him to meter maid, thats what he deserves. MW was nothing but super polite, went along with the program and did everything he was asked, this cop was just a pr*ck.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Maybe a speeding ticket and send him on his way. The cop said he was going 67 mph, however, I’m not sure what the speed limit is there. I saw no swerving of his vehicle and he was respectful at all times.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
I only watched about 5 minutes of that video – enough to see that Mike Williams obviously wasn’t intoxicated. I have to admit passing a cop on the road at 1:30 am is NOT a good idea, especially while speeding….
Having said that once the officer pulled him over and did the flashlight test it should have been the end of it. PERIOD.
Why can’t police officers just admit that they were wrong?
On the flip side I am so very throughly impressed with Mike Williams and his conduct. He behaved a lot better than I would have under the identical circumstances.
I seem to recall a few people writing that it was dumb for Willims not to use the NFL ‘taxi’ service available to them. In fact was SOMEONE suggesting that Williams should have called Paradise Limo as well? To those people I believe the video displays clear evidence that Mike Williams did nothing wrong and behaved better than most people in that same circumstance.
Kudo’s to Williams…
To the Tampa cop – He should be forced to write a letter of apology to Mr. Williams and be docked his salary for that night for an unlawful arrest. What would REALLY make this better is for that officer to purchase 4 home Bucs tickets and donate them to kids for the 2011 home opener.
Hey Eric I’m curious, what case, if any, would Mike Williams have against the TPD for an unlawful arrest?
January 15th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Hey Horice,
Do YOU think Mike Williams has an unlawful suit pending? Don’t take this personally but I dislike attornies, however I think that this was so aggregious that the TPD needs to be held accountable for arresting MW for DWB/DWR and the proceeds donated to the local boys/girls club.
Of course all that hurts in the long run is the Tampa tax paying residents, unless the city of Tampa docked his salary!
January 15th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Joe, My Administrator WILL be in contact with you in the very near future, that is for sure. Mr. Lucky, yes Mike has actually two legit grounds that he can pursue. 1) He is a public figure and was assumed guilty until “proven” innocent. All of us watched the 49er’s game and alomost all that were after that talked about his arrest.. Character defaimed! Whether we admit it or not the nation will add this to Mike as a negative to go along with the stuff that happened to him in college. 2) Officers are held to an higher standard then even Politicians, so this wrong judgement call that most of us saw, is not as passive as some suggest. I even saw the Sherrifs Official speak last night and he made some comments that had a strong “lets throw the blanket over this one” attitude.
Make no bones about it, this is an embarrassement to the department. And NO, they don’t want us to loose faith in their ability to be imparcial in judgement. But no one is perfect, and not all people that are in professions actually “deserve” to be there. This officer should be a wheather man in Florida, therfore when he is incorrect and calls it totally wrong, he can keep his job and nobody gets arrested and falsely accused, just maybe “wet”.
And as an extra note; I saw the video of this guy giving back to a young man who was challenged (heard it 1st on 620), and it brought tears to my eyes because this guy was real in his interactions. Also after seeing this arrest video, people this guy might be more of a diamond in the ruff than his play on the field has shown. He just might be a guy who has been victomized in two incidents… Thanks Tampa Sherrifs Dept. for adding to the negativity of one of our own tax payers. And if you guys really want a kick, research how cops really came to be in America. You might find that were far, far, far from that today.
January 15th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Ok, driving around late at night, passing a cop, going 10+ over the limit, you’re going to get stopped. No ‘if’s ‘and’s or ‘but’s about it. Smell alcohol? great. do what you’re taught and give a sobriety test. I can’t fault the officer for any of that. what happens after that makes me so furious i’m almost speechless. Mike walked the line. He touched his nose. He stood on one foot – like a damn statue – for 21 seconds!!!! The cop’s like “great, that was real nice. you’re under arrest” WTF!!!!!
Joe, someone has to raise a stink about this, and i vote YOU! His arrest was so talked about, has been such an embarrassment… the embarrassment needs to be redirected to where it belongs. this officer and the department. Ask Dominik some questions! Ask your media friends to ask some questions! SOMETHING! I’m so pissed!
January 15th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Oh, and Joe, thank you for ridding us of Buc You. A$$ munch.
January 15th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
@factoidboy, what you say is true mostly, IF you are a BLACK MAN in Tampa, especially a young one. White Men routinely drive 10mph over the speed limit w/o even a second look. But let a young Black Man do it, and heaven forbid!
January 15th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
I find it VERY suspicious that the audio is cut while the officer is checking up his information. I can just hear his revelation “oh this guys a pro athlete? I’m gonna nail him, hey guys come check this out” it makes me sick
also glad to hear Buc You is gone
Joe answer a dumb question for me, is his email blocked or is it his IP address so that he can’t come back?
January 15th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
This is an utter atrocity and the fact that he and Raheem were dragged through the mud for this by the local/national media is shameful. What in gods name was he arrested for, his driving did not appear to be wreckless at all and he was not only very compliant with the officer but appeared to pass all of the sobriety tests with little to no problem. Williams should be commended for handling that situation so well, as I myself am not even sure that in the same circumstances I would have been able to remain as level headed and polite as he did. Were the four other police officers standing off to the side of the road really necessary either?
January 15th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
They looked to me like they were checking out how nice the car was. It was either that or he had some cranking tunes. They were standing there checking something out that had little or no importance to what was going on.
January 16th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Wow, that was enlightening. Mike was thoroughly calm and respectful throughout the whole ordeal with the police officer, which was great to see.
It’s certainly not a cut-and-dried situation. He was speeding and it looked to me like he drifted left in his lane a few times. It was late and I’ll speculate that Mike was tired; we know he’d had a couple drinks (or maybe a number of drinks but waited long enough to sober up).
While I think his driving could have been a bit impaired, I’m certainly not going to cast stones. I’ve been there before (especially back when I was 23), feeling like I’m making the right call (hey, I kept to under one drink an hour) but not accounting for the fact that driving while tired can be dangerous.
It’s a judgment call, but I don’t think Mike deserved to be arrested. I feel bad that his name got drug through the mud; he definitely deserves an apology from a lot of talking heads. But the silver lining is that his post-arrest comments sounded like he took some good learnings from this — he recognized that he had been irresponsible. Some lessons can only be learned through difficult experience, and Mike seems like the kind of guy who will take it to heart.
I’m glad he’s a Buccaneer, and I look forward to watching him play with all of this behind him.
January 16th, 2011 at 6:04 am
I cannot read all 71 posts. But he was swerving a little bit and could not maintain lane integrity when making the right. Which could have meant he was texting or just not paying attnetion. He blew under, and had no drugs in his system so by law I’m glad he was no-processed. But to all the people that said he was pulled over because he was black didn’t realize it was a black man pulling him over.
People in power do tend to abuse it, but this is a borderline call for sure. Like I said when this all happened, TPD & HSCO are quick to pull someone over and even if you pass the field sobriety they will take you to jail and let the process work its way out. That’s the policy in Tampa period.
January 16th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Just Frank are you that naive that you don’t realize that black officers pull over other black people for driving while black. Taking people to jail for PASSING the field sobriety test is NOT policy. That would be completely unconstitutional. Your an idiot.
January 16th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I couldn’t have done better than Williams sobriety test and I don’t drink. He’s got the money, I would seriously consider a suit against the cop to understand his technical reasons for being such a d!ck and force him into a public apology. It would be worth every penny.
January 16th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
I am a Diabetic, and when my blood sugar gets really high, I become really dizzy. I try my best not to drive when this happens, but every diabetic knows it is unplanned when it hits. I could see me being sober, and failing this sobriety test. It is unfortunate that the America of today has become one big Police State. The next thing Big Brother will do is go after our Guns, in the name of “protecting us”. IMHO, Mike Williams did nothing wrong, but to be Black and a Tampa Bay Buc in Hillsborough County. This Cop no doubt made brownie points for arresting Mike Williams, with his other racist redneck buddies. They see a young black man driving a nice car, and he is either a drug dealer or a professional athlete, so instant traffic stop. I am glad Mike Williams beat it, but how long will Hillsborough County Taxpayers condone our over aggressive Police ? When are we gonna wake up that Tampa is known for Cops who toss crippled people out of wheelchairs in Jail, and illegally wiretap the home of a couple who had their baby stolen.
The Mike Williams incident is just another example of absolute power, corrupting absolutely.
January 17th, 2011 at 4:00 am
well said Gitarlvr
January 17th, 2011 at 11:10 am
It’s unconstitutional but it happens every day. I’m my line(s) of work I see a lot of people through every walk of life and it is all too common. Just ask the cops who stalk Platt & Howard in South Tampa looking for people to take to jail for a DUI about constitution.
You act like people in power don’t think they are above the law. Your the idiot because you probably think that all cops are good and they always consider the constitution when making an arrest.
Apple Roof understands what is really going on. You are the naive one.
January 18th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Because it happens is besides the fact lol. People get killed everyday, should we just ignore it when we see someone get murdered? Lol logic man