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James Stewart Issues Statement Regarding His Arrest

James Stewart has issued the following statement regarding his arrest earlier this week, as reported by MD in an article here.  As indicated in the following statement, Stewart plans to race this weekend’s supercross event in Arlington, Texas.  Here is the statement:

On Monday, March 27, at 4:50 p.m., James Stewart was arrested for allegedly impersonating a police officer.  The incident occurred on Florida’s Highway 417 in Orlando, as Stewart was taking a friend to the airport to catch his flight.  According to police reports, Stewart allegedly used his vehicle lights and red and blue lights to slow down a vehicle containing off duty police officers that had passed his vehicle.  Stewart was in street clothes and never exited his vehicle during the incident.  No confrontation or exchange of words between the officers and Stewart occurred.  Stewart was not charged with any dangerous driving or any other negative action.   The police report is clear that once Stewart slowed the police officers’ vehicle that he then drove towards the airport; several miles later, Stewart and his friend were pulled over at the airport where they fully cooperated with police.

Stewart is extremely sorry that the incident occurred and that any negative inferences may arise that reflect poorly on his fans, his team, or his sponsors.  Stewart will continue working with authorities to resolve the incident quickly.

In James’ words:  “Thanks to all that are standing by me.   I hope to resolve this incident quickly and show people that I am someone that upholds the law and someone they can respect as a competitor and as a person.”

Stewart is free to race and is preparing for this weekend’s Supercross race in Arlington, Texas.  He and his team will continue competing in the remainder of the Supercross series.

40 Comments

  1. Lola says:

    About as sincere as Tiger Woods and O.J. Simpson… they were all sincerely sorry that they got caught. Just teaches our kids that if you become semi-famous (or notorious), make a lot of money, you can do anything you want and get away with it… even a felony! Want to send the right message? Pull his license, put him on trial, face the consequences… just like you and I would have to do!

  2. Tommy See says:

    How do people get a hold of these lites anyway ? Great fun to trick people , kidnap or carjack and so on! When can we trust and respect each other?
    Maybe I`m just old and need to get back under a rock. Come on people there is a consequence to all actions.

  3. Reffect says:

    I’ve done some dumb things in my life, but this ranks pretty high as “not thinking about what I’m doing”. If he gets off with just a slap on the wrist, then I will have lost respect for Yamaha and for SX.

  4. Happy says:

    “someone who upholds the law” — what an idiot. Citizens obey the law or nonviolently protest them. The judicial branch of the government upholds the law. His press release displays exactly the problem — this moron thinks he is the law.

    FYI, this is not a kid, and not even a young man. Hell, he’s only got one year left of selective service. Take his truck and throw the book at him. Sponsors, pull your sponsorship.

  5. Jon92 says:

    Anyone but “its not my fault Stewart” would have been fined or suspended. As with Obama if you say or do anything to a person of color you are seen as racist

  6. Stinky says:

    The kid pulled a bonehead move.I hope the ones calling for his head want their kids treated the same way.
    I don’t know where he got the lights, but, they’ve been used in some awful ways. I was warned about their use and report them in New Orleans in 95 as carjackers tools.
    Just because he’s talented and paid well doesn’t mean he’s smart or moral, he’s just got a talent. Recognize the talent, watch if you like, buy his merchandise if you wish to support him or his actions.
    I will continue to watch a little Supercross and ALL the Motocross I can find. I don’t buy football jerseys or most of the MX gear that the riders are pushing.

    • Vic says:

      I’m not really sure you can accurately call a 25 year old a “kid”.

      • Norm G. says:

        unfortunately in future year 2011, most can’t really be called adults either. and therein lies the problem. he still probably plays with video games…? thankfully, incidents like this can aide in the maturing process hence the reason it’s important the punishment fit the crime. tough love this. by george, we’ll get him to adulthood by age 30. 🙂

  7. jim says:

    Didn’t the ex-governor of South Dakota, that jack-@ass Janklow do the same thing all the time and get away with it? That’s right he then ran a stop-sign and killed a motor-cyclist and got 100 days in jail.

  8. First time? says:

    I can’t help but wonder how many other times Stewart has done the same thing and gotten away with it. I mean, why would anyone have a blue-light set-up in their truck unless there was some ulterior motive…

  9. Simon Evans says:

    He’s not just stupid. He’s criminally stupid:
    To use the flashing lights is one thing. To try to explain to the `fans` with a one-sided statement of events from his point-of-view in advance of any court case is professional suicide. A judge looking at that statement might well take a dim view of his vile attempt at media manipulation and crass subversion of the legal process…

    As Abe Lincoln said:
    ” ‘Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”

    Now, we are left in no doubt. He NEEDS jail time. But even more importantly he really needs to sack his `advisors`…

    • harryfxr says:

      No disrespect intended but your statement, “his vile attempt at media manipulation and crass subversion of the legal process…” while spectacularly articulate might be a little strong, IMHO.

    • jimbo says:

      Or we could just drop him out of an airplane to feed hungry animals. Reading heartwarming posts like the above make me surprised we only fight three wars now (all on the other side of the planet) and only have military bases in 450 countries, and only allocate about $2T annually for “defense” (more than the next 18 countries combined). A “people” like this need a lot of “defending”!

    • jimbo says:

      Good ole Abe, the saintly man who removed “habeas corpus” (oh, who needs that?), illegally incarcerated the press, and oversaw the bloody, horrific death of 600,000 fellow citizens and the maiming of another million or so…”Bomb ’em till they love ya!”

  10. dave says:

    Just because Bubba got them to pull over and tell them to slow down does not mean they were speeding. If they were Bubba’s truck caught up to them so he was speeding also.

  11. Steve says:

    Creepy.

  12. Steve D says:

    Good lord folks. It was a stupid stunt. It warms my heart to know that everyone in the motorcycle field is so saintly and pure. Hit the kid with a fine a roll with it. Now a second infraction should bring a much bigger hammer. You should only get one second chance.

  13. MGNorge says:

    He is a role model and these stunts are passed on to the next generation that sees that justice can be circumvented with enough money. Stewart isn’t the only one, can you imagine the kids that idolized Charlie Sheen?

    • Stinky says:

      Enough of this role model crap. Anybody that uses some video image as a role model is VERY simple and should be supervised closely. Police, school teachers, neighbors, friends are role models, professional athletes, movie stars are just action figures for 99% of the people and kids should be taught as much.

  14. Doug says:

    The problem is that he is a role model for thousands of young dirt riders. He knows that. Its time our society quits coddling stars and athletes, and starts dropping the hammer on them. “I am someone that upholds the law…”. Pathetic. Reap the rewards, but pay the consequences…

  15. Ken Elliott says:

    This is pretty serious stuff. There was a guy who was impersonating a police officer, who would follow women, pull them over and rape them. People were afraid to pull over. The cops take that stuff pretty seriously, and this won’t easily go away.

    If convicted, he’ll forfeit his truck. Florida law lets them take a vehicle if it was used in a crime.

    Video of the news story:
    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-james-stewart-motocross-arrest-20110328,0,1565867.story

    • harryfxr says:

      Fortunately neither James or his passenger were doing anything even remotely like what you described.

  16. Tarred says:

    Entitlement mentality at it’s best…

    I didn’t do nuffin!

    • harryfxr says:

      Yuuup and don’t forget he is a multimillionaire and will get the same kind of justice (and by that I mean purchase) that anyone of his economic position typically receives ain’t this a great country!?

  17. joe b says:

    what irks me is he only became sorry after he got caught.

  18. mr_dirtrider says:

    Were the off duty officers cited for speeding?

    • Philip says:

      That’s exactly what I was wondering

      • HM in Appalachia says:

        And you can both bet,that is oh so true!Who is really “above the law” here?James has been arrested,fine.What of the speeder driving the car?And two other officers of the law sat by and did nothing?Hey if we want justice?Lets get all the guilty in a line-up!

        • bill says:

          Ever drive in FL? Nominal left lane speed on I-4 is ~90. Hard to believe that anybody gets cited. I drove all over the state recently and saw a grand total of nobody pulled over.

          • Joe says:

            Yes, I drive in central Florida everyday and FL a police state. I live in it and cops are everywhere. I typically pass a dozen on my 10 mile drive to work everyday. It so bad, it justifies the cost of a Valentine One.

            You can’t get ticketed for 5 over the limit here, and highway traffic usually goes 5-10 over in the fast lane (75-80) – except when you come across an idiot doing 5-10 under the limit in the fast lane. Some people don’t know that there is a “slow traffic keep right” law, and that one is never enforced by the cops. There are the few people that fly by faster, but that’s not the average speed.

            Anyway, yes, what about the off duty cops who were speeding? It certainly is a double standard. I have friends that are cops, and if they do get stopped, they don’t get ticketed. Actually, having friends that are cops is typically good enough to get out of a local ticket – “Hey, I’m friends with Steve Smith, how’s his son doing in baseball this year?” If the cop knows Steve, this just might get you out of the ticket.

    • Matt says:

      That has nothing to do with Bubba committing a felony.

  19. Bud says:

    So basically he had some flashing lights he used to get traffic to move out of his way. Not the worst thing a young smartass has ever done. He deserves a slap on the wrist. Beyond that, it’s not really such a big deal.

    • John says:

      Agreed, the earlier report made the crime sound much more egregious.

    • Matt says:

      If you listen to the interview with the FHP, this type of incident is a big issue in the area, and they are trying to stop it. Impersonating a police officer is a felony in the state of FL. This is a serious crime Bud. This is a big deal. Bubba crossed the line and should pay the consequences. How could he be so stupid to put his career he worked so hard to achieve in jeopardy? It is probably not the first time he has done this for a good laugh. Who is laughing now? He has let the MX/SX nation down. If Yamaha and the Mission Indians had a backbone, they would fire him immediately.

      This press release is a joke.

  20. proheli says:

    Just another young idiot who is showing his criminal colors, but is unfortunately a good athlete.

  21. jimbo says:

    I’m not apologizing for anyone or anything. The fact is, if Stewart or anyone else ever accused of anything illegal by “the law” admits anything, the prosecutor must use such admission against the accused to increase charges/punishment, etc.

    If the prosecutor did not use such admission against the accused, the prosecutor would be accused properly or improperly by his/her enemies (of which they will certainly have many for various reasons, one of the most obvious being the next person that desires his cushy, high-paying high-benefits position) of incompetence or negligence.

    The USA, among it’s worst sins, is the world’s highest incarceration rate of all “civilized” (used loosely) nations, by a gargantuan margin. The ACLU investigates legitimate accusations that FEMA now funds a federal prison in New Orleans (IIRC) with about 5k capacity. Yes, FEMA funds for prison construction…

    • Tom R says:

      Incarcerating criminals, who engage in various acts and degrees of pillage, rape, and theft against persons like myself and my family, is among the USA’s worst sins? The sin would be in NOT incarcerating them.

      Also, it is quite amusing to see a reference to the ACLU or FEMA in a motorcycle enthusiast site/blog. Talk about being off-topic…

  22. warprints says:

    That is horrible spin. What an idiot.

  23. Tom R says:

    “Thanks to all that are standing by me. I hope to resolve this incident quickly and show people that I am someone that upholds the law and someone they can respect as a competitor and as a person.”

    He needs a more imaginative spin doctor.

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