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Not only did Miami Police Department officer Thomas Vokaty’s decision to pull over an FHP trooper stir the notion that there’s a simmering feud between the two law enforcement agencies, but as it turns out the FHP trooper he pulled over was just about the last one he should have messed with. See, the FHP trooper is the brother of a sergeant who works in the MPD’s internal affairs department. Whoops!
Rumors of a feud, real or imagined, emerged after an FHP trooper pulled over and arrested a Miami cop, Fausto Lopez, for driving 120 mph on the Turnpike.
Vokaty was on his way home to Broward County when he decided to get a little revenge. He pulled over an FHP trooper, Cpl. Victor Luquis, for going 90 mph and allegedly asked something like, “How does it feel to be pulled over?”
Vokaty’s first mistake was that as a MPD officer he has no jurisdiction in Broward County. His second mistake was that the FHP trooper had family connections to his own force.
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Once Vokaty realized Luquis’ brother was a sergeant in Internal Affairs he asked the trooper not to report the stop, and even offered to buy him dinner according to a report obtained by The Miami Herald.
“Please, I have three kids. I’ll buy you dinner,” he allegedly pleaded.
Luquis called his brother, but Vokaty “freaked out” and took off before any other officers could arrive. He was formally disciplined later that week.
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