Tesla Footage Clears Driver Cuffed 33 Minutes, and the Officer Resigns

Credit: Tesla

A Winter Springs, Florida police officer who held a Tesla owner at gunpoint in his own driveway has resigned, after footage from the driver’s car helped clear him in court. Winter Springs Police Chief Matthew Tracht said in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, that the officer is no longer employed by the city, and that the conduct “did not meet the standards and expectations I have for the officers who serve this department and our community.”

The case goes back to August 7, 2024. Kevin Finley was driving home after dropping his kids off at daycare when an officer in an unmarked car tried to pull him over near his home. Finley says he never saw the lights or heard a siren. When he got home, he reopened his garage door to officers with guns drawn, and was ordered to his knees and placed in handcuffs for 33 minutes, according to WESH 2.

Finley was accused of fleeing and given a criminal citation for reckless driving, along with several traffic citations. He says he offered his Tesla video to police the next day, but nothing came of it, and the case dragged on for nearly two years.

That footage ended up deciding the case at trial in July 2026. Video from the camera on the back of his Tesla showed the unmarked car’s emergency lights were only visible for a brief moment before curves in the road and nearby buildings blocked the view. The officer had also written in his report that Finley “lost traction and fish-tailed,” which the Tesla video didn’t show. Finley was acquitted before the case went to the jury.

Finley filed a complaint once his criminal case wrapped up, and the department opened an internal investigation. Tracht said the officer left while that investigation was still ongoing, and police later confirmed he resigned. “There is no doubt the situation could have been handled differently, and there are lessons to be learned from how it was addressed,” the chief said.

According to FOX 35 Orlando, which investigated the case, Tracht called Finley to apologize and tell him the officer was gone. Finley isn’t convinced. “If it was sincere, this would have happened two years ago,” he told the station. He has hired a lawyer and plans to file a civil lawsuit over the arrest and his legal bills.

It’s not the first time Tesla cameras have changed what police believed happened. Back in 2021, a man in Slidell, Louisiana faked getting hit by a Tesla until the car’s cameras showed police otherwise. In British Columbia, Oak Bay police ticketed a driver who threw a sundae at a Tesla after the car’s dashcam recorded the whole thing.

Dashcam and Sentry Mode are built into the car’s software, so anyone ordering a Tesla gets them without adding an aftermarket camera. Owners with Premium Connectivity can also check Sentry Mode’s live camera view from the Tesla app while parked.

Finley told WESH 2 the experience made him “love the car even more,” since the video saved him from possible jail time. Do you keep Dashcam or Sentry Mode recording on your Tesla, and has it ever helped you out?