Image via TMZSports/YouTube
We’ve seen some traffic stops and even arrests of celebrities where police had no idea who they were, but that wasn’t the case with former NBA point guard Rajon Rondo. The basketball star was pulled over by Indiana state troopers back on January 28 and ultimately was arrested, but bodycam footage from the incident only recently surfaced.
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The footage, shared by TMZ Sports, shows a trooper approaches the basketball player’s Tesla after pulling it over on the side of the highway. He explains the reason for the traffic stop was the improper display of the vehicle tag on the rear of the all-electric ride.
It looks like either he had no license plate on the Tesla or a really dark smoked lens over it, making it blend in with the black body. But we learn from what the trooper says that there just was no plate, which we can’t understand how anyone would drive around like that.
A trooper catches a whiff of marijuana, which has an unmistakable odor, leading to a search of the Tesla. Not only do they find drug paraphernalia, they run across a handgun. Thanks to a no-contact order from 2022, the former point guard for the Boston Celtics isn’t allowed to carry firearms. Rondo was arrested and hit with several misdemeanor charges.
At one point one trooper tells another, “He’s a famous basketball player. He played for a bunch of NBA teams.” This removes any doubt that they knew who they were dealing with, showing no preferential treatment was given to Rondo because of his celebrity status.
For his part, Rondo remained calm and compliant, even though he initially had questions about why he was being detained by troopers.
Image via TMZSports/YouTube
