Sheriff Carmine Marceno of Lee County, Florida, does not like street racers. He said as much in a press release last month, after deputies arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly racing his Lexus against a Charger at 104 mph: “I have zero tolerance for street racing in Lee County.” One would think that such a staunch position would apply in all possible cases, but apparently there’s an exception. Marceno seems to think street racing is fine when he does it, as he was filmed allegedly racing a Lamborghini just two weeks after that statement.
Marceno, in his Facebook statement, said that “Driving an excessive speed and putting yourself, your passengers, and others on the road at risk is an incredibly selfish decision.” Perhaps he thought he was mitigating those risks in the video obtained by the Florida Trident, where he appears to race a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder against the clip’s videographer in a C8 Corvette — he’s the only occupant of the Huracan, so at least he’s not endangering any passengers.
Hypocrisy, thy name is cop
Cops often see laws as something they enforce without ever needing to obey, and video evidence of street racing from a purportedly anti-street-racing sheriff is a perfect encapsulation of that mindset. It’s bad when others do it, particularly those uppity kids in their Lexuses, but it’s fine for someone who reportedly earns $261,000 per year to “protect and serve” to subject people to that same risk. One might make an argument that cops are better suited to high-speed driving, given their experience with chases, but one might also realize that cops are bad at chases too.
Cops should not be exempt from the laws they’re paid to enforce. Alleged street racing is an extreme example, but laws should apply equally all the way down to obscured license plates or parking on sidewalks — a badge and a gun shouldn’t put anyone above the law. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Marceno manages to justify qualified immunity here. Hoping for him to see any sort of penalty from the alleged behavior is simply too optimistic.
