Windsor, Virginia (left), is one of that state’s most notorious speed-trap predator towns. The other is nearby Waverly. Both are on U.S. Highway 460 between Richmond and Norfolk (details here).
(Traveler warning: Take the interstate instead, and stay the hell away from those towns.)
Back in December 2020, two Windsor cops — still on duty today — pulled over and then violently assaulted a mixed-race black/Latino Army officer in uniform (bodycam photo below). The cops threatened him with the electric chair. He eventually was told he could leave without criminal charges if he kept his mouth shut about the incident. He didn’t. He hired a lawyer and is suing the town and cops. Read story here.
This blog written before about small towns robbing travelers. For example, in 2014, we reported that two Florida towns were forced to disband their police departments after nationwide publicity about their rampant speed trap abuses (background here and here). We also reported on property forfeiture scams perpetrated by cops in Nevada and Texas on unwary travelers (here and here).
Unfortunately, there are far more corrupt small-town cops than we know about or can keep track of. When traveling out of state, researching each state’s known speed traps in advance can help, but it’s best to stay on interstate highways and avoid small towns as much as you can.
As for Windsor, Virginia, this is what a lawyer said about the incident on HorsesAss.org (#9 here):
“It’s a tiny jurisdiction, with only two full-time command staff. The city council is unpaid. They don’t even have a city attorney. … The two police seen in the video are half their force. But they undoubtedly have an insurance carrier [who] will pay … an attorney to defend the city. Up to a point. But if this gains the attention it appears it will, … the city … will lose their liability pool coverage. Then they’ll be faced with some tough choices. And a good one might be for them to disincorporate, and close their police department.”
The sooner, the better. And hopefully those cops won’t get hired by some other small-town police department.
