A Florida mayor is under scrutiny after body camera footage showed him behind the wheel of a police-style vehicle, allegedly using flashing blue lights during what appeared to be an improper traffic maneuver.
The video, newly released by authorities, captures Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo, 28, being stopped by a Miami police officer in Coconut Grove at around 11:30 a.m. on June 14, after he allegedly made an illegal left turn.
What might have been a standard traffic stop took a more serious turn when Officer Yasmani Gonzalez noticed that the black Chevrolet SUV Calvo was driving appeared to be equipped with flashing red and blue police lights.
“Is this a police car? Is this your personal?” the officer can be heard asking in the footage as he questioned Calvo about the vehicle.
Calvo, whose mayoral office is non-partisan, responded by pointing to his public role, saying: “I’m an elected official.”
The explanation did not appear to satisfy the officer, who pushed back firmly during the roadside encounter.
“You turned on your police lights,” Gonzalez told him. “That’s a criminal offense, and I can easily take you to jail.”
As the exchange continued, the officer reminded Calvo that being an elected official does not grant special privileges or place him above traffic laws.
Mayor of Hialeah since last November, Bryan Calvo, 28, allegedly activated the emergency lights on his unmarked Hialeah Police Department vehicle while sporting an unauthorized Hialeah Police shirt, during a traffic stop in Coconut Grove on June 14
Officer Yasmani Gonzalez initially pulled Calvo over for making an illegal left turn, however during the stop the officer noticed that the city-owned vehicle Calvo was driving flaunted police car blue emergency lights
According to Florida statute, vehicles are generally prohbited from displaying blue lights visible from the front unless the vehicle is specifically authorized under state law, such as certain law enforcement or emergency-response vehicles
‘I don’t care if you’re the mayor,’ Gonzalez slammed. ‘If you’re not a police officer, don’t activate police lights.’
The officer then warned Calvo that he was driving a police vehicle despite not being a sworn law enforcement officer.
Gonzalez proceeded to threaten jail time, saying, ‘that right there could be a third-degree felony.’
However rather than making an arrest, the officer issued Calvo two citations – one for the improper left turn and another for having prohibited emergency lights on the vehicle.
Court records show the mayor has pleaded not guilty to both violations. It also remains unclear whether Calvo is still driving the SUV.
The footage has also launched fresh questions over why the city’s mayor was driving a police-issued SUV equipped with functioning emergency lights.
Florida law generally limits the use of blue lights to authorized emergency vehicles and does not provide a specific exemption for mayors. Although municipalities may authorize rare vehicle assignments or equipment for operational purposes, local policies do not supersede state law.
Driving a city vehicle equipped with police-style equipment could be interpreted as the impersonation of a police officer, even if emergency lights were not activated and is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Elected at 27, Calvo made history for being the youngest mayor in Florida
Calvo, who is often chauffeured by his security detail, sargent-at-arms or police escort and has been rarely seen behind the wheel
Persistently denying any wrongdoing, Calvo has insisted the SUV belonged to the Hialeah Police Department and that the emergency equipment had been installed long before he took office.
In a statement he penned, ‘One citation relates to a traffic maneuver and the second concerns equipment that was installed on a vehicle owned by and registered to the Hialeah Police Department, a vehicle that was refitted before I took office and before the vehicle was assigned to me.’
The blue lights incident was not Calvo’s first run-in with the law.
In July 2023, while serving as a Hialeah council member, Calvo was stopped by a Hialeah Police officer for allegedly failing to stop at a traffic signal while driving a red Tesla, according to Hialeah Police Department records.
The case bore a civil penalty of $277. However, Miami-Dade Clerk of Court records reveal the case was swiftly dropped at the request of the citing officer.
While the earlier citation did not involve allegations as serious as those raised during the June stop, the repeat run-in is likely to fuel mounting scrutiny over the driving conduct of one of South Florida’s highest-profile elected officials.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Miami Police Department and the City of Hialeah Mayor’s Office for comment.
