WATCH: Democrat state senator handcuffed after refusing to show driver’s license at traffic stop

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Body camera captures Oklahoma State Senator Goodwin arguing with deputy after traffic stop

Confrontation ensued after Oklahoma State Senator Regina Goodwin was pulled over by a Tulsa County deputy for allegedly running two stop signs. (Tusla County Sheriff’s Office) 

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A longtime state senator in Oklahoma was caught-on-camera going head-to-head with a sheriff deputy after a traffic stop dissolved into a “very verbal” ordeal.

Body camera footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed State Sen. Regina Goodwin, a Democrat from Tulsa, repeatedly arguing with Tulsa County Sheriff’s Deputy Freddie Alaniz shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The scene was recorded by Alaniz’s body-worn camera and began with a tense exchange between the deputy and the elected official. Goodwin was pulled over after Alaniz said that he witnessed the official fail to stop at two stop signs.

“Ma’am, I’m not going to ask you again. Can I get your driver’s license, or can I take you to jail on running a stop sign?” Alaniz asked Goodwin shortly after pulling her over and asking repeatedly for her license. “I’m not going to ask you again. It’s not for debate.”

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The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) released bodycam video showing an argument between a deputy and Oklahoma State Sen. Regina Goodwin over a traffic stop on Jan. 11, 2025. (Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office)

The pair went back and forth, with Goodwin arguing that the officer was “escalating” the traffic stop.

“That is not true. That is not true at all. I was having a conversation, and you just all of a sudden said, ‘I’ll arrest you,'” Goodwin said.

“No, I said, ‘Or, I can arrest you if that’s what you want,'” Alaniz said.

“I think you really escalated something,” she said. “No, sir — that is, why would that even be an option for you?”

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Alaniz: “Because you’re refusing to give me your driver’s license.”

Goodwin: “There was no refusal of me to give you my driver’s license.”

“I asked you over five times to give me your driver’s license, and you kept debating your driver’s license,” the officer responded.

“I was not at all debating my driver’s license, sir, that is not correct,” she replied.

After the deputy asked Oklahoma State Sen. Regina Goodwin more than a dozen times for her driver’s license and she didn’t comply, the deputy placed her into handcuffs. (Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office)

After the initial contentious exchange, Alaniz detained Goodwin in handcuffs and placed her in his patrol vehicle. Her attorney, Mike Manning, who witnessed the scene, spoke with the deputy.

“I realize you have a job to do, officer,” Manning said. “I realize Sen. Goodwin can be a little bit strong-headed at times, but don’t you think you can write her a citation or something? She’ll give you her driver’s license.”

“Yeah, yeah, I can absolutely do that,” Alaniz said. “I don’t need to ask her 10 times for her driver’s license.”

Manning replied: “I saw it. I realize.”

“I don’t have an issue writing her a citation or letting her go, but I’m the one that’s in command of the traffic stop, not her,” the officer said. “She blatantly ran two stop signs, and I was just going to give her a verbal warning and tell her not to do that, but her demeanor — the way that she was — I can’t have that.”

If I don’t allow other people to do that when I do a traffic stop, I’m not going to allow her either.

— Tulsa County Sheriff’s Deputy Freddie Alaniz 

Body camera footage captured the tense exchange between Oklahoma State Sen. Regina Goodwin and a sheriff’s deputy. (Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office)

The officer also called his superior to the scene, saying he pulled Goodwin over for rolling two stop signs and “hauling butt” down the Tulsa street.

“She ran this stop sign back here and the other one that’s a little further down. Just came up, slowed down, and then [zoom] right through them,” Alaniz said. “She was driving so fast that, when she was hitting the puddles of water, it was just [splash] shooting them out. So that’s why I came up and pulled her over. And as I was getting out, she got out of her car, ‘Why are you stopping me?’ You know, just kind of got very verbal. I asked for her driver’s license numerous, numerous times, and she wouldn’t give it to me.”

State Sen. Goodwin represents Oklahoma’s 11th District. She was elected to the state Senate in 2024, and previously served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2014-2024. (Oklahoma Senate)

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Goodwin was eventually released at the scene with a citation for failure to stop at a stop sign. She faces a Feb. 25 court appearance at 9 a.m. unless she pays the ticket beforehand.

Goodwin represents Oklahoma’s 11th District. She was elected to the state Senate in 2024, and previously served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2014-2024.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Goodwin’s office for comment.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.