A Michigan woman calls her husband for help after being followed by what appears to be a state police car for over 20 minutes. When he gets to her, she’s being pulled over, and he wants to know why.
TikTok creator JBird (@jbird.pma.officia) posted a video about the encounter on Feb. 16.
“So, my wife called me because this cop has actually been following her for 20 minutes now,” he says to start the video. “All the way from Adrian to all the way up the road here. So, we’re going to see if he follows her. She’s going to turn left at this light.”
JBird’s wife makes the left turn, and sure enough, the police car goes the same way.
“He literally followed her,” JBird says. “I’m going to go and see what the heck he is pulling her over for.”
The video cuts to JBird standing on the other side of the street while the officer exits her vehicle. As she approaches the driver’s side door, JBird asks, “What did you pull her over for, ma’am?”
The video cuts out. A second video related to the encounter appears to have been deleted.
In the caption of the video, JBird asks, “Isn’t there like a law against following somebody for 11 miles before you pull them over?”
In the comments section of the video, viewers reacted to the police officer’s alleged actions.
“They’re not supposed to follow that long,” one person argued.
“It doesn’t take 20 minutes to know you’re going to pull someone over,” said a second viewer.
“Just imagine if she didn’t have a husband to call,” said a third person.
Someone else said, “I’m glad she called you because just because someone appears to be in a law enforcement vehicle doesn’t mean they’re law enforcement.”
While several people in the comments suggested this could qualify as entrapment, that’s not what the term means legally. Entrapment is a criminal defense used by defendants that argues an officer induced them into committing a crime they weren’t already predisposed to commit.
Michigan state law requires that officers have probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to initiate a traffic stop. However, following a vehicle along a public roadway and later stopping the driver for a traffic violation isn’t prohibited by itself.
A Reddit user posted to r/AskLE asking about why an officer might do this and received several responses. One person said, “Possibly waiting for an area to stop that was safer for him and you.” A second person said, “He might have been looking for DUI driving clues.” And a third person said, “Another cop was giving a dissertation over the radio and he had to wait for him to shut up before calling in the stop.”
AllHipHop contacted Jbird via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Michigan State Police via email for comment. We will update this story if either party responds.
@jbird.pma.official isn't there like a law against following somebody for 11 Mi before you pull them over?? #jbirdspma #michigan #statepolice ♬ original sound – Jbird
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