A Latin singer experienced quite the rude awakening on Tuesday during a traffic stop in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
Thirty-two-year-old Cecilia Selina Mercado, whose stage name is Sessi, was pulled out of her car and arrested for allegedly driving with a fake diplomatic tag, the New York Post reported Saturday.
When law enforcement pulled her over regarding a traffic violation and asked her to show them her drivers license the woman gave officers her passport while claiming she had “immunity,” the article said.
Video footage shows the tense moments when one of the policemen at the scene reaches inside her car to unlock the door. He then grabs her by the arm and tries to pull her out of the car:
The man behind the camera, whom reports say is a man named Scott Huss, repeatedly tells the officers he feels threatened and “Stop right now!” and “Get off of her, right now!”
However, the officer does not release the woman and tells her to step out of the car.
The man behind the camera then tells the officers, “She is not a United States citizen. They have no jurisdiction. You are going to get fired from your job and she is gonna get $250,000 for winning in court.”
However, the policeman holding onto the woman then yanks her out of the car after she refused to comply. Mercado’s mouth drops open as she lands on the pavement.
Moments later, she is seen being held against the vehicle while the officers place her under arrest.
According to the Post report, Mercado was born in the Bronx. The outlet also noted that Mercado’s plates that identified her as a “diplomat” were allegedly fake, according to authorities.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the video, one person writing, “This isn’t NYC,” while another person said, “Someone tell that fool that Sunny Isles Beach Police Department has jurisdiction on Sunny Isles Beach lol.”
Following the incident, officials released the woman on a $2,500 bond Wednesday. She has continued to claim the plates were legitimate.
“She is charged with having a counterfeit registration, license plate, or sticker on a motor vehicle,” the outlet said, adding that her boyfriend, Andres Lopez-Escobar, came to collect her from jail while driving a car with alleged fake diplomatic plates.
An image shows the young man involved in the case:
Law enforcement were reportedly forced to break open the driver’s window when he allegedly refused to open it for them once the officers stopped the vehicle. In addition, the Post article said they located several firearms inside the car.
The 22-year-old man is now facing charges of driving without a valid driver’s license, possessing a counterfeit license plate, motor vehicle registration, or sticker, along with resisting an officer without violence.