In Florida, a Hooters employee who was suspected of driving under the influence was captured on bodycam trying to use charm and provocative actions to avoid a traffic violation.
The incident involving Sophia Ross, a 22-year-old from Sarasota, took place on November 17 and stemmed from a concerned citizen phoning 911 to report the waitress swerving on the road and disregarding traffic signals.
The witness then decided to follow Ross before pulling up to her car, where he found ‘that it appeared the driver was sleeping,’ records show.
Upon the arrival of Sarasota Police Department officers at the scene, Ross, who appeared to be asleep, suddenly woke and attempted to drive away, ultimately colliding with the police car.
The officers then approached Ross’s car and proceeded to put the vehicle in park as she was ‘moving slow and acting lethargic,’ before trying to charm one of the officers who she repeatedly called ‘daddy’, according to the now-viral footage, obtained by WFTV.
When asked to perform a sobriety test, Ross, who had an alleged blood alcohol level of .318 – more than four times the legal driving limit – told the cop: ‘I will do anything for you daddy.’
‘God damn. You in that suit. I would do f***ing anything for you,’ she added before lifting up her sweatshirt and moving her chest toward the officer’s bodycam after being told she was being recorded.
After asking Ross where she was coming from, one of the officer’s appeared to burp, saying he was ‘drinking a fizzy drink.’
‘Oh! What were you drinking?,’ she asked him, slurring her words and hanging onto her car door.
After the cop told her he drank a Celsius energy drink, he and his partner walked Ross across the street, as she stumbled and attempted to hold onto a street pole.
As authorities kept trying to question her, Ross joked about the officer enjoying an energy drink prior to her arrest.
‘Hey, you were drinking a fizzy drink. You were drinking a fizzy drink – and you gonna try me?,’ she asked an officer.
She then kept whining about how she had to pee as the officers kept their composure and told her that they were ‘going to investigate a DUI.’
Ross then refused to participate in DUI testing, as she said: ‘I am literally drinking and I’m not gonna drive,’ despite her being stopped by police after driving just moments before.
‘But you were already driving, that’s the problem,’ an officer responded.
‘I was not,’ she quickly replied. ‘No I wasn’t. No I was not.’
She then tried to suggest that officers didn’t stop her in the middle of the road, even as the cops pointed to the cars.
‘Where do you think you are right now?,’ an officer asked her.
‘I am in Gulf Gate,’ she responded. ‘No, you’re miles from Gulf Gate,’ an officer told her.
She continued to protest what happened as she appeared to put her hands together and make a gun with her fingers, pointing at the cops.
Ross and the two officers soon moved to the other side of the street so she could perform her testing.
One of the officers then told his partner to turn off the lights on the car while he tried to get Ross to cooperate.
As he did so, the 22-year-old told him: ‘We’re gonna make out here,’ as the officer quickly replied: ‘No we are not.’
The officer, who tried his best to remain professional, was occasionally heard chuckling as Ross continued on with her flirtatious comments.
‘You want to try and do this first exercise for me?,’ the officer asked her, and she referred to him as ‘daddy’ and said she ‘would do anything’ for him.
Ross then apologized before walking closer to the officer and saying: ‘Dude, why are you drunk testing me? You know I’m drunk. Why are you doing this to me?’
He then told her that he and his partner have to ‘try’ to have her complete the tests, as she cut him off and said: ‘So you’re gonna drunk, and then f*** me up right?,’ she asked in a seductive manner.
One of the officers then helped move her to start the tests, as she said: ‘I can’t keep my hands off him, sorry.’
‘Unfortunately, you’re gonna have to,’ the cop told her, as she said: ‘I can’t bro.’
He then passed her a piece of paper that she thought was a citation as she started to curse at the officer before flirting again.
‘F*** bro! God damn bro! Is this your phone number?,’ she asked, as the cop said: ‘Nope, it’s blank.’
Ross then begged the other officer to write down his partner’s phone number on the piece of paper.
They then informed her that she was being recorded as Ross told an officer to hold the piece of paper as she shoved her face in the lens.
‘I will talk to the camera. I will talk to the camera,’ she said.
‘You’re the one that’s taking me home right?,’ Ross asked one of the officer’s, before adding ‘I want you!’
She then revealed her Hooters tank top under her shirt and moved her chest toward the camera, saying: ‘See this? I am wearing contacts.’
The officer quickly warned her that the footage is public record, but Ross didn’t appear to care.
‘Anybody can see that…Mom, dad, grandma, family,’ he said. ‘I just want you to…’
‘You think I give a f***?’ Ross replied.
Ross refused to complete the sobriety test but did cooperate with officers when they handcuffed her at the scene.
After about 30 minutes, the officers placed Ross in their police car as she continued to tell them ‘I have to pee guys.’
Ross was charged with a DUI with having a BAC greater than .15. According to a breath test operator report, she also had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and unsteady feet.
She pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge and was released on a $500 bond, records show.
Ross appeared in court on December 16 for her arraignment hearing and is expected back Thursday for her pre-trial hearing.
