OVIEDO, Fla. — An Oviedo police officer has been suspended without pay after he wrongfully arrested a man from Turkey.
Body camera video from February of 2019 shows Officer Scott Mosely making a traffic stop along Red Bug Lake Road after a car was cutting between other vehicles and tailgating.
Mosely admitted during an internal investigation that he was annoyed that the driver took too long to pull over.
In the body camera video, when Mosely approached the driver, the first thing he said to the driver was, “Do you speak English?”
The driver is a Turkish national.
“How did you get a driver’s license if you don’t speak English?” Mosely asked the driver.
When the driver showed Mosely his Turkish driver’s license and passport, Mosely said, “You cannot drive here if you do not have a license in the United States of America.”
WATCH: Body camera video shows Oviedo officer wrongfully arresting man from Turkey
Under Florida law, nonresidents only need a valid license issued in their home state or country to drive.
Mosely then asked the driver, “Why did you not stop?” The driver told Mosely that he did not understand.
Mosely replied with, "Yeah, that’s why you should not be driving in America, when you don’t understand what it means when a cop is behind you with their lights on.”
The driver even used a translator app on his phone to try to communicate with the officer.
“You are not allowed to drive in America if you don’t know our laws, and you do not have an American license," Mosely said.
At one point, the officer took the phone and continued to insist that the driver is breaking the law.
“Give me that. Give me your phone. You do not know enough,” Mosely told the driver.
Eventually, Mosely told the driver to call his cousin, who owns the car, to come to the scene, and Mosely called for backup.
“You’re not allowed to drive here,” Mosely said.
Even with another officer present, Mosely put the driver in handcuffs and placed him under arrest.
After a hearing, it was determined that Mosely would not be disciplined for not having knowledge of laws and regulations because of lack of training.
Mosely was suspended for 12 hours without pay for his conduct.
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