An Arizona senator caught driving twice the speed limit was allowed to continue on her way because she is protected by “legal immunity.”
Justine Wadsack faced 30 days in jail when she was pulled over by an officer for driving 71 mph in a 35 mph zone in downtown Tucson.
When she introduced herself as “Senator Justine Wadsack,” he radioed his bosses to say that an obscure state law protects senators from prosecution while the state legislature is in session.
But she blames “political persecution” and threatens to investigate the police herself after they tried to write a ticket as the hearing was ending.
“Prosecution and prosecution are two very different things,” said Tucson District Attorney Mike Rankin.
Arizona Republican Senator Justine Wadsack was pulled over in March of this year for driving 71 mph in a 35 mph zone in Tucson’s University District.
She initially escaped charges due to her “legal immunity” and blamed “political persecution” after police returned to the case
Police bodycam footage obtained by the Tucson Sentinel captured when Wadsack was pulled over in her red Tesla Model S 85 at 10 p.m. on March 15.
The officer introduces himself and asks her if she has her driver’s license, registration, and insurance.
“Yes, I am,” she replies. “My name is Senator Justine Wadsack and I’m running home because I have four miles left on my charger before I go under.
“Okay, Speedway is a 35 mph zone,” he informs her, “and you were going over 70 mph.”
“I didn’t do 70,” she tells him.
“Yes, you were. I was behind you, I had my radar on,” he says.
The sound fades as the officer returns to his patrol car and briefly confers with his colleagues before letting Wadsack drive away into the night.
Three months later, the state assembly adjourned and on June 27, an officer called Wadsack’s office to schedule an appointment so she could sign a speeding ticket.
“The chain of command was aware of this traffic stop and the subsequent criminal charges against Senator Wadsack after the legislative session adjourned,” Lt. Lauren Pettey wrote.
She demanded to speak to the police chief and said she was being ‘politically persecuted’.
“She also said I was aggressive and got angry when I called her Mrs. Wadsack and not Senator Wadsack.
‘She then abruptly ended the call and hung up.’
The former real estate agent was one of the delegates representing Arizona at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin earlier this month
Attorney Tom Ryan said legislative immunity is designed to prevent arrests from interfering with lawmakers’ ability to vote in the state Assembly.
Wadsack, a former real estate agent, took to Facebook on Saturday to fiercely criticize the police, her political opponents and “media manipulation.”
“The officer knew I was a senator before he pulled me over because there is a plaque under my license plate that says ‘Senator of the State of Arizona,’” she wrote.
‘There is also a sticker on the back of my driver’s license with the text of the constitution stating that I cannot be fined because of the ‘legal privilege’.
“So I don’t have to say a word. They already know. This debunks the narrative that I have a right to be above the law. I FOLLOWED the law.”
She denied driving 71 mph and claimed that Tucson police refused to ticket her until after they launched an investigation into police harassment, and said she consulted a legal expert.
“This is highly unusual and when I asked if they had ever done this to other legislators, her response was ‘no… only to you,’” she wrote.
Driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit is a third-degree felony in Arizona. It can result in up to 30 days in jail, one year of probation, a $500 fine, and three demerit points on your license.
Tucson Police Department spokesman Sergeant Richard Gradillas said AZfamily that the case was still pending and that a summons had been filed in Tucson Superior Court on June 17.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police withdrew its endorsement of the senator elected in 2022 for the 17th District.
“To be clear, Wadsack was treated strictly within the law — and with the utmost respect — by every TPD team member she encountered,” the group said in a statement.
The Democratic city attorney denied that the action against Wadsack was politically motivated.
“Persecution refers to punishing or harming someone based on his or her beliefs,” he told the Sentinel.
Prosecution means initiating legal proceedings to hold someone accountable for breaking the law.
“Charging someone — Ms. Wadsack or anyone else — for endangering other people by driving more than 20 miles per hour above the speed limit within the city limits is not ‘prosecution.’ It is persecution.”
According to Mark Napier, former Pima County sheriff, the senator had “turned a bland story into a fiasco.”
“You committed the crime, take your ticket, shut up and move on,” the former Republican sheriff noted.
Retired Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier said she “turned a trivial story into a fiasco”
Even car experts are baffled by her bizarre reasoning
Attorney Tom Ryan said legislative immunity is intended to prevent arrests from interfering with lawmakers’ ability to vote in the state Assembly.
“Unless it is a felony, a breach of peace or treason, no person in the State of Arizona may arrest a city legislator or bring a civil suit against him until the hearing has commenced or is 15 days in the morning,” he explained.
And even auto experts are baffled by the senator’s behavior.
“That makes absolutely no sense,” said former senior Tesla engineer Michael Ahern.
“There is no car that becomes more efficient when you put your foot down on the accelerator, electric or petrol,” he added.