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Gov. John Kasich ‘Idiot’ Cop Video: Sheriff David Clarke Reportedly Posts Damning Footage, Ohio Traffic Stop

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 05:34 PST, Mar 18, 2016

John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, is under fire for a damning video that surfaced recently, and some are calling the Republican presidential hopeful for the 2016 elections anti-police. Reportedly, Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, took to his Twitter page and posted past footage of Governor Kasich receiving a traffic citation and later calling the courteous police officer an idiot.

Throughout his campaign, Donald Trump has supported law enforcement, saying peace officers are “treated poorly” and are often abused by groups alleging widespread corruption and police brutality. Other candidates for president have largely been silent or neutral about ways to bridge the gap between police officers and the communities they serve. The Milwaukee top cop thinks he has an answer, at least about one candidate.

Sheriff Clarke suggests that Kasich’s silence about this campaign issue is likely due to a video where he received a ticket in 2008 before he was the governor of Ohio. On Tuesday, Clarke posted a YouTube video to his Twitter timeline and appended a few choice words about the presidential hopeful, citing a Western Journalism report.

It shows Kasich driving on Ohio’s Route 315 and passing a public safety vehicle with its flashing lights on alongside the Columbus roadway. Dashcam video and audio captured the stop from start to completion on January 8, 2008.

During the stop, the officer was completely courteous and issued Kasich a ticket for “failure to yield.” Less than two weeks later, while at an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency meeting, John Kasich expressed his displeasure with the police officer and assailed him for the $85 ticket.

“Have you ever been stopped by a policeman, who was an idiot? I had this idiot pull me over on 315. Listen to this story. He says to me, you passed this emergency vehicle on the side of the road and you didn’t yield. I didn’t even see, where the heck was it. The last thing I would ever do would be to pass an emergency vehicle. Are you kidding me?”

Kasich was referring to Officer Robert Barrett, who, according to the dashcam video, acted professionally while explaining to the then-congressman the reason for the traffic violation and mandate for a court appearance. Still, Kasich assailed Barrett, saying he “tells me if you don’t report to court, we are putting a warrant out for your arrest. He’s an idiot! We just can’t act that way, and what people resent is people who are in the government, who don’t treat the client with respect.”

Clarke, who was referred to by a Journal Sentinel writer as the “Ann Coulter of Milwaukee politics,” posted a series of tweets about the Kasich traffic stop and his “idiot” comment. Needless to say, they’ve all gone viral.

One year into his first term as governor, a video of the 2008 stop began circulating, reportedly by way of critics of a controversial bill that proposed ending collective bargaining of unions. At the time, Kasich supported the legislation in the Senate that, if ratified, would replace workers’ scheduled salary increases with merit raises. It would also end union strikes.

Democrats, labor unions, and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) used the video of the traffic stop to suggest the governor has anti-police sentiments. Shortly after the video made rounds on social media and newswires, Kasich apologized to the cop, according to a statement from the governor’s spokesperson in Fox News report.

“Today Gov. Kasich met with Officer [Robert] Barrett and apologized and that apology was graciously accepted. It was a friendly meeting during which the governor reiterated his support for law enforcement officers and for the dangerous and important work they do.”

It’s unclear what the video Sheriff Clarke dug up and posted online will have on Kasich’s campaign. The governor hasn’t spoken publicly about the past incident, but it is likely to be an issue Trump and Ted Cruz raise to deflate Kasich’s momentum after the recent Ohio primary victory.

[Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP]

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