On the evening of February 8th, 2022, Tallahassee police officers responded to a call at a Circle K gas station, where they found Ryan Ray, an aide to City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, passed out in the driver’s seat of a car. Body camera footage from the incident, which captures Ray struggling to respond coherently to police, raises significant questions about the decision-making process that followed – including a failure to investigate obvious front end damage to the car – before letting Ray go scott free.

The video shows one officer already on the scene, positioned behind Ray’s car, close enough to read both the license plate and a bumper sticker displaying support for Commissioner Matlow. It is not clear from the footage whether the first police officer ran Ray’s plates before the recording started, but given that’s often a standard practice of law enforcement, it’s possible that Ray’s identity was known to them before the second officer arrived and took charge of the situation. Notably, the first officer on the scene did not initiate a conversation with Ray, opting instead to stand by and allow the second officer to arrive and take the lead.

But why?

This delay in engagement seems unusual – how did the officer know that Ray didn’t need medical attention?  It raises the question: was the second officer, who ultimately led the interaction with Ray, called in as a supervisor to handle a potentially politically sensitive case? The presence of the Matlow bumper sticker, clearly visible on Ray’s car, may have alerted officers to Ray’s political connections, suggesting a reason why they might have taken extra care in handling the situation.

One way to be sure: Tallahassee Police could release the other officer’s body cam footage and provide an explanation for why they ultimately allowed Ray to go home, despite the mounting evidence that they shouldn’t have done so.

What is clear from the footage is that Ray was visibly intoxicated, slurring his words and struggling to communicate. While his car keys were not in the ignition when officers arrived, Ray later admitted to driving from the Governor’s Club, a downtown Tallahassee establishment after having been drinking. But that confession came after the officers had already allowed Ray to call his girlfriend to pick him up, electing not to charge him with DUI or conduct any further investigation into his driving record.

But even more perplexing, the officers’ decision to sweep a potential DUI under the rug came before they confirmed his identity – at least on camera. This sequence of events raises a critical question: if they genuinely did not know who Ray was, why did they not follow basic police protocol and do a bit of investigating, like verifying his identity and checking for any history of DUI or other offenses before making the decision to let him leave? The fact that the interrogating officer quickly guessed Ray’s association with Commissioner Matlow—based on the visible bumper sticker—suggests that Ray’s political connections may have been known to them, possibly influencing their decision.

What is also clear at the 8:40 mark in the video is that the officers finally decide that maybe they should investigate a little bit further, just in case there’s more to the situation than they are aware of. The first officer suggests to the body camera-wearing officer that he should inspect the front of the car for front-end damage. And guess what? Sure enough, he finds some. On camera, it’s possible to see that the front right bumper of Ray’s car is partially detached, sticking out at an odd angle (see 8:55 and 9:00 minute marks).

There is audible confirmation, too: “He does, doesn’t he?” the officer says to himself before letting out a long sigh.

But the subsequent “investigation” consists only of asking Ray if he hit anything, which Ray, unsurprisingly, denies. The officer then asks him if he had any previous damage to his car, and Ray mumbles that he “has a thing on the front.” The officer then asks where the damage was located, and Ray repeats the same, mumbled response. “I had a thing on the front.”

Apparently that’s good enough for Tallahassee Police, because they are then interrupted by the arrival of Ray’s girlfriend – herself an aide to Democrat State Rep. Michelle Raynor – who arrives on the scene to whisk Ray away. The officers photograph the front bumper only moments before the car is driven away by Ray’s girlfriend.

At the time of the incident, Ray was not just any citizen; he was a prominent aide to Matlow, a commissioner who has championed transparency and accountability. Since then, Ray has risen to an even more public role, being elected as the chairman of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee in November 2022​, a role he still holds.

If the officers were indeed aware of Ray’s identity and his connection to Matlow, it would suggest a troubling possibility of preferential treatment. On the other hand, if they were genuinely unaware of who Ray was, the lack of thoroughness in checking his background—especially after he admitted to driving drunk—raises questions about their overall decision-making, especially if Ray’s driving record or criminal history is less than spotless.

The public has a right to understand why the officers on the scene opted to not just overlook, but deliberately avoid diligent police work, in a situation that would typically result in at least a temporary detention, a review of the suspect’s driving record, and possibly a DUI charge. Was the decision to let Ray call for a ride home influenced by his ties to local politics, or was it an incompetent lapse in standard policing protocols? These are questions that deserve answers to ensure accountability and to maintain public trust in both law enforcement and local government.

Watch the full video: