I've got a uh government vehicle out here 115 miles an hour uh 120 called the Washington Township. They advised me that this is their chief and that they can't do anything about this. Welcome back to the Lackluster channel. In August of 2023, a viewer named Jay was driving out of Indianapolis when he observed a Washington Township fire and rescue vehicle make aggressive lane changes and appeared to follow too closely behind another vehicle. Jay called the township directly, but was told that car 13 was their chief and that there was nothing that they could do about the issue. A few minutes later, the chief flew past Jay traveling at approximately 120 mph. This time, he called 911. I've got a uh government vehicle out here, the Washington Township Fire and Rescue for 115 m an hour. Uh 120. I know the Washington Township. They advised me that this is their chief and that they can't do anything about this. I'm wondering if maybe somebody out there will and can. After giving a description of the vehicle, the chief exits the freeway. He's exiting mile marker 140. I'm going to go ahead and follow him. Sir, you don't have to put yourself in danger. I'm not arguing that. Jay continues to tail the vehicle as it speeds through residential areas. Currently traveling at 35 mph, 38 m an hour, and 40 mph, and a 30 mph zone. I I have every intention of getting out of my vehicle and confronting this gentleman and recording the interaction. We're going to be the top. I will be following him to whatever destination he may have. Sir, I advise you to not put yourself in any kind of danger and I advise my government to follow the same laws that it enforces itself. Eventually, the vehicle pulled into the Martinsville Police Station parking lot where Jay would get the attention of a local officer to handle the incident. Making complete stop at a stop sign. Turning on to South Sycamore from Washington and pulling into an administrative building, the Martinsville Water, Sewer, and Utility. Uh, got a police officer right in front of me. Uh, you have a good day, ma'am. Hey, bro. Uh, you were doing 10 on the freeway. With the call disconnected, Jay begins recording on his cell phone. The video starts with the other driver out of uniform, leaning into Jay's window after aggressively approaching his vehicle. All right. So, what's your name, sir? I don't I'm not talking. You're not talking to me. Okay. Sir, I have witnessed this man traveling at 110 mph on the interstate, 41 in a 20 mph zone right up the road here. I would very much like him removed from duty. Uh, absolutely. He has no He has no right to drive this car. He has no right to be in the position that he's in. If I understand correctly, I've already talked to the the fire and rescue down here. This is their chief. I This is absolutely atrocious behavior on his behalf. And now he's attempting to, you know, evade the situation. Of course, I know that you didn't witness this, but my dash cam damn well did. I've got every bit of video. What is your name and badge number, sir? Just for the record, uh, Johnson 640. Outstanding. Thank you very much, Mr. Johnson. Officer Johnson. Yes. Outstanding, bro. Jay explains what he witnessed to the officers, provides his identification, and works on saving the dash cam footage. More officers appear, including the Martinsville Chief of Police, who first speaks to the driver in vehicle 13. He then speaks to one of his officers and before speaking to Jay, the actual complainant, the chief finds his opportunity to flip this around on him. What has said about the interaction? Um, he said he was on 69 traveling behind him. Patt said he has dash cam. Um, but they were both traveling at the same rate of speed. It sounds It sounds Is that correct, sir? I was attempting to keep pace with this vehicle. Uh the the original interaction occurred that you guys were both going in excess of 100 milesPH. The original interaction occurred because he was following too close to the vehicle in front of him. And then as soon I mean as soon as he could slip into the right lane uh to pass this guy, he did. He jammed on the gas, cut right back in front of him. After that maneuver, I stayed with the vehicle and I got on dispatch. Okay. Okay. All right. I was just trying to verify that you had both been running in excess 100 mph. He doesn't deny that he was going over 100 miles an hour. He was going over 120 mph. But in you and you following him, you were also going over 100 miles an hour. Is that a fair statement? Okay. A fair statement would be the one that I just made, sir. What does your name and badge number? Chief Richards. Okay. And what's your badge number? R1. All right. So, a fair statement would be I watched him commit several uh dangerous traffic infractions and I did what I could to stay with that vehicle. All right. While I was on the phone with dispatch, pulled that in and said, "Hey, there's a vehicle traveling in excess of 100 miles an hour." Provided the information and then they would not then themselves have also been going over 100 miles an hour. Have you taken a survey on this subject? Uh I'm just telling you what a reasonable person would do. We have a reasonable standard in law enforcement what a reasonable person would do. So, was what he was doing was that reasonable? Okay. So, I'd like for you to talk to him about it, please. Instead of coming to talk to me, instead of coming to talk to me, I'd like for you to talk with him. As far as I'm concerned, at this point, that's all I have to say about that. Are both eligible to receive citations at this point? If if that's what you feel is necessary, okay, then then by all means, you have all the information you need. Have a good day. Okay. Well, you're going to need to hang out here so we can get those citations. Okay, we'll be back with you in just a moment, sir. All right, chief. All right, great. Were you going to fill us paperwork or was there Man, these guys do everything they can to stick up for one another. This is what I'm talking about. The chief over here knows these guys. These are good old boys. And he's basically going to say, you know, well, if you're gonna let this slide and not make a big deal out of it, I won't make a big deal out of it. He's threatening to give me a ticket for responding to what a government agent did. He wants me to back off, let this guy go, and then he'll get out of the car and say, "Oh man, that may or may not even been me." you know it it down the road if the cops assuming they even do talk to the guy right the chief of of the fire and rescue you say oh I don't remember if I was driving at that time I have no idea and he'll have the the the plausible deniability you know and so if you actually try to stick up for your rights if you try to hold your government accountable in this life this is the sort of treatment that you can anticipate you will get [ __ ] by their buddies. But is it worth it? Absolutely. Am I willing to take this to court? Let a judge hopefully look at this? Absolutely. If they choose to ticket me, if they choose to take me to jail, if they choose me to to just, you know, take me out back and beat the crap out of me, I'm going to have to put up with that. And that sucks. But, uh, this is what you have to go through in order to hold your government accountable, I guess. Do you need my information again? Nope. I've got it. We've got everything. So, what we'll do is mail both citations and since you both were going the you both admitted to going that speed limit and then you'll have a court date set for city court if you want to contest it and we can um be in the courtroom and go through. Outstanding gentlemen. Outstanding. All right. You, sir, have been wonderful. Thank you very much for willfully giving your information. You are obviously a good old boy trying to stick up for your buddy over here. And I I really wonder how you sleep at night. You, sir, take care. Have a good day. You have a safe. All right. I'm wagging a finger at you guys. Have a good day. I'll do my very best, sir. I certainly hope that same information or advice has been given to the chief. This is our government, guys. This is what we got. The man in car 13 is alleged to be John Lake, fire chief in Washington Township in Indiana. The chief of Martinsville that handled this incident is John Richards. I want to train the next generation of leaders for the department. Though his resolution appears somewhat fair on the surface, both parties leave without citations. Jay is adamant about holding his government accountable. Because no matter what your view is on punishing citizens for victimless crimes, no government official should be held to a lesser standard than those it claims to serve. Chief Richards claims to have an open door policy for the residents of Martinsville. If members of the community want to come in and speak with any member of my staff about any questions that they might have, we're more than happy to entertain those visits. Great. There are a number of people that come in from time to time and have asked questions about, hey, why is this being handled the way it is? I'm more than happy to sit down and talk with anybody about why a particular decision was made. But in this case, after Washington Township told Jay that they couldn't do anything. Chief Richard spent more time tying Jay to a civil offense than addressing his colleagueu's behavior. Of course, he is the only one that knows his motivations, but it certainly had the feel of trying to run Jay off to let this all disappear. And to date, Jay has not received a citation, and court records appear to indicate that no one by the name of John Lake has either. Do you find that um it's good to live in the place that you police? Oh, absolutely. Can you talk a little bit about that? Well, I mean, you're more in touch with what's going on in your community, for example, right now with all of the the traffic issues surrounding I 69, I I'm experiencing the same traffic issues that everybody else is. Do you reside here in Martinsville? Uh just north of the city. Just north of the city. It's good to live in the place that you police. Oh, absolutely. So, let me know what you think down below. Was Jay justified in tailing the chief in order to hold him accountable? What do you think the final outcome should be? Jay's channel will be linked below if you'd like to reach out. And if you like today's video, be sure to check out one of these ones next.