PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon State Police trooper pulled over a man from Dubai for what he thought was a traffic violation but wasn’t.
Dashcam video of the conversation — posted Jan. 8 on YouTube by a user known as “Stig’s Persian Cousin” — has gone viral.
The video shows an official who identifies himself as “Trooper Rummer” (T) approach the vehicle and tell the driver that he was stopped because he didn’t have a license plate.
The driver (D) explains that he’s from Dubai and he points toward the back of the car, saying, “It’s my license plate right there.”
T: “Okay, but you’re not in Dubai.”
D: “I’m visiting as a tourist.”
T: “Well, no, you’re not visiting as a tourist if you brought a car with you.”
The trooper proceeds to ask for the man’s license and the driver complies.
T: “If you want to drive this car, you have to have a license plate from somewhere in the United States or a trip permit, which you don’t have.”
The driver explains that he brought the car in as a “temporary import” and the trooper demands to see his paperwork.
D: “Why are you so defensive? I’m trying to provide –”
T: “No, I’m just asking for these documents and you won’t quit talking about other stuff.”
D: “No sir, I’ve provided all you asked for.”
The trooper walks away while the driver pulls up his insurance on his smartphone. When the trooper returns, the driver shows it to him.
T: “This is not insurance.”
D: “Sir, on the bottom, you can read it, it’s insurance. The policy number’s there as well.”
T: “Where are you taking this car?”
The driver explains he’s headed to Vancouver, British Columbia and that he originially imported the car to Canada in order to take a roadtrip.
D: “I do a roadtrip every two years.”
T: “You do a what trip?”
D: “Imagine you want to drive your car in Europe. What do you do? You ship your car there, you drive it for a month, and you ship it back.”
T: “That’s not what I do.”
D: “What is your question, officer? I can answer your question.”
The trooper hands back the driver’s paperwork.
T: “You have to get a temporary permit, okay? I have another call I have to go to. Be safe pulling out into traffic.”
The trooper turns and leaves.
D: “Sir, it’s a federal law — you don’t know the law?”
The driver starts laughing as the trooper pulls away in his vehicle, lights flashing.
It appears the driver knew what he was talking about, according to the following statement obtained by The Oregonian.
“ORS 807.020 (1) provides that a person who is not a resident of this state or who has been a resident of this state for less than 30 days may operate a motor vehicle without an Oregon license or driver permit if the person holds a current out-of-state or foreign license issued to the person,” he added.
OSP told KOIN 6 News it agrees it has some “training issues and professional issues and will look at those internally and move forward.”
The video has gone viral, with more than 3 million views by Wednesday afternoon.
