“The arrogance is disgusting”: Federal Way police officer Breanna Straus suspended for viral TikTok, internet left unconvinced
TikTok user and police officer Breanna Straus has left netizens disappointed in the police after speaking about her privileges.
In a video, Strauss was seen reminding viewers that she can speed without getting in trouble. She also said that officers can “find a reason” to pull drivers over if they stay in front of them long enough.
The video has led to a lengthy debate about police officers’ entitlement with people taking to Twitter to call her out. One Twitter user even said, “The arrogance is disgusting,” a sentiment that was echoed by a lot of other users.
Breanna Straus works with the Federal Way Police Department in Washington State. In the now viral video, she told viewers that the police are above and beyond the law and do not have the same rules as the citizens. This has led netizens to believe that Straus was abusing her power after she became an authoritarian figure.
The video, which has garnered massive traction on social media, has since been deleted from Breanna Straus’ profile. However, netizens were quick to screen record the video. One of these people was Reddit user u/Jaamac2025, who circulated it across social media platforms.
The video found its way to Twitter as well, where it amassed over 3.5 million views and more than 52.7k likes. The tweet read:
“I mean she just said it, the laws don’t apply to them, and they will “find a reason” to pull you over id they want to.”
Breanna Straus said in the video:
“If we’re driving on the freeway in our police car, get the f**k out of our way. Get the f**k out of the way. If you merge and we follow behind you and we merge too, you’re probably in trouble. Best way to find that out is to get the f**k out of the way. I can go 90 miles an hour, you can’t. You can’t do that. So get the f**k out of the way. If us officers stay behind you long enough we can find a reason to pull you over so you might as well get the f**k out of the way.”
Netizens react to Breanna Straus’ TikTok video
As mentioned earlier, netizens were not pleased to hear the officer’s “PSA” and many were disgusted by her tone and autarchic demeanor. Several internet reasons stated that her behavior of looking “untouchable” was a reason why they did not believe in the police system.
Additionally, when people learnt of Straus’ suspension of only 10 hours, they were left furious. Many called for the officer to be fired instead of being suspended for such a short duration of time.
What happened to Breanna Straus?
The infamous officer was sworn into the force in August 9, 2021. The Federal Way Police Department conducted an investigation into the video and looked into possible violations of standards. They also looked into the officer’s previous disciplinary issues.
Cmdr. Kurt Schwan from Federal Way told Seattle Weekly that the police officer did not have previous disciplinary issues. They went on to determine that Straus broke the department’s Code of Conduct when it came to their social media and personal conduct.