Breathtaking excuse of arrogant female lawmaker caught doing 71mph in a 35mph zone

A female Arizona lawmaker told officers she was 'racing to get home' because her Tesla battery was about to die after cops caught her doing 71 mph in a 35 mph zone. 

Justine Wadsack, a Republican GOP senator, was pulled over by the Tucson Police Department around 10pm on March 15, 2024.

She immediately introduced herself to officer Ryder Schrage as 'Senator Justine Wadsack', and proceeded to tell the cop she was protected by 'legislative immunity.' 

Now a year after the incident, Wadsack has lodged a lawsuit claiming that she was purposely pulled over by people that wanted to 'silence her politically.' 

Police body cam footage obtained by the Tucson Sentinel captured the moment Wadsack was intercepted in her red Tesla Model S 85 by Schrage. 

After the officer asked if she had her driver's license, registration and insurance, Wadsack replied: 'Yes, I do. My name is Senator Justine Wadsack, and I'm racing to get home because I have four miles left on my charger before I'm about to go down.

'OK, well, Speedway is a 35mph zone,' he informed her, 'and you were going over 70.'

'I was not doing 70,' she told him.

'Yes, you were. I was behind you. I had my radar on,' he replied. 

She was not ticketed immediately for speeding because a provision in the Arizona Constitution states that senators are protected from prosecution while the state legislator is in session. 

The rule is in place 15 days ahead of the legislative session, and runs until lawmakers adjourn for the year. 

After the mandated time passed, Wadsack was cited for criminal speeding and failure to provide proof of insurance. 

In the bodycam footage she was heard telling the officer that she had just switched to a new car insurance provider, and despite trying to locate the insurance card on her phone, Wadsack could not find it. 

Driving more than 20 miles over the designated speed limit in a residential or business area is a misdemeanor. 

In September, Wadsack pleaded not guilty at her arraignment hearing, as she thanked her supporters and promised that 'people will know the truth' about the incident. 

Her case was officially dismissed in January after the lawmaker completed a defensive driving course and proved that she had required car insurance for her vehicle. 

Despite her case being settled, Wadsack recently decided to build a federal case against the town and police department for allegedly violating her civil rights by pulling her over in the first place, and then later issuing her a citation. 

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona on Thursday, claimed she was pulled over as part of a plan to silence her politically. 

The legal filing, reviewed by DailyMail.com, further claimed that her being stopped was done to 'target her for prosecution on trumped up and phony charges, chill Ms. Wadsack’s political free speech, and knowingly and wrongfully interfere with her right to hold public office and pursue her chosen occupations.' 

Additionally, Wadsack's encounter with police also created a slew of negativity for her, according to her attorney Dennis Wilenchik. 

According to the lawsuit, because of the backlash Wadsack faced following the incident, Vince Leach - her opponent in the Republican primary who won last year in Legislative District 17 - allegedly received about $9 million worth 'in earned media.' 

'The charges were made public just prior to the 2024 primary election. Plaintiff was, in fact, defeated for re-election,' the lawsuit detailed, adding that the town and police department also had an 'additional motivation' to allegedly ruin her reputation because she's a woman, the filing claimed. 

Wadsack alleged she can prove more than $8 million in damages that were directly caused by the city and its law enforcement officers that are 'not inclusive of emotional distress, psychic trauma and other damages incurred.' 

She further argued that the police department 'violated' her 'rights to freedom of speech and equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,' the filing said. 

The lawsuit also noted that several high ranking officers in the police department agreed in the weeks after Wadsack was pulled over that she 'should not have been stopped' because she 'had immunity.' 

'Whether they admit or not, she should never have been stopped,' the document said, adding that she 'never believed she would be ticketed after the legislative session ended.' 

The filing also claimed that she was pulled over that night as part of 'a plan of members of the TPD to act in concert with not yet known city officials to ruin plaintiff’s good reputation because she was introducing legislation these members of TPD felt were adverse to their interests.' 

Prior to the incident, she spearheaded two bills in the legislature - one that would have changed the voting location from large centers 'back to precinct-level', and another that 'would have removed Tucson’s status as a charter city,' the lawsuit stated. 

Wadsack has demanded a jury trial for this case. 

Wilenchik told DailyMail.com: 'We are hopeful the suit will proceed to help root out corruption by a concerted conspiracy used against a politician trying to do the right thing.

'This was a terrible tragedy to our client's career that must not happen again.' 

When contacted by DailyMail.com, the Tucson Police Department said: 'We are unable to comment on open litigation'

DailyMail.com also contacted the City of Tucson for comment. 

Shortly after she was pulled over, former Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier said the senator had 'turned a nothing story into a fiasco.' 

'You did the crime, take your ticket, shut up and move on,' the former Republican sheriff noted.