Image via WPLG Local 10/YouTube
As we covered before, supermodel and Tom Brady’s ex-wife Gisele Bundchen was pulled over in Surfside, Florida on April 24 after an officer observed her violating traffic laws. Bundchen had an emotional meltdown during the stop, telling the cop she was tired of the paparazzi following her around everywhere. But it’s what the officer said that has the city’s mayor fired up.
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Bundchen got off with a warning and no citation. We still don’t know what she allegedly did to get pulled over, whether it was speeding or something else. Bodycam image of the supermodel stopped in her Mercedes G-Wagon blurs out any details which might provide a clue.
But the big controversy now comes as the mayor of Surfside speaks out about what he found dismaying concerning how the traffic stop was conducted.
Mayor Charles Burkett spoke with WPLG and said he found the officer in the bodycam footage displayed a “dismissive posture” to Bundchen. He said the officer was “not helpful” by telling the supermodel he couldn’t stop the paparazzi from doing their job.
The mayor also didn’t like how the officer told Bundchen to talk to a neighboring city when she complained the paparazzi were stalking her. That’s the point where she had an emotional meltdown, obviously frustrated by the situation.
Interim Police Chief Henry Doce said he “would like to have seen a little bit more empathy and understanding” from the officer during the traffic stop. However, the chief said the officer is “phenomenal” at his job, even though he “could have done better.”
The big question we have is why, when regular people are treated unkindly by police during a simple traffic stop, mayors and police chiefs are often silent. But when a celebrity has a problem suddenly everyone’s doing a fire drill to point fingers and talk about empathy.
Image via WPLG Local 10/YouTube
