Watch: Florida Cops Try To Explain To Black State Attorney Why They Pulled Her Over

ORLANDO, FL — In awkward body-cam footage released last month by the Orlando Police Department, two city cops try to explain to Aramis Ayala, Florida's first-ever black state attorney, why they pulled over her vehicle on the evening of June 19.

The video, which went almost instantly viral after it surfaced on YouTube this week, begins as the officers pull up behind Ayala's sedan, walk up to her window and ask for her ID card.

"What agency are you with?" one officer asks.

"I'm the state attorney," Ayala replies coolly.

Given this new information, the Orlando police officer, now audibly embarrassed, bumbles through a sheepish explanation of the thought process behind the traffic stop.

"Your tag didn't come back," he tells Ayala. "Never seen that before. ... We ran a tag. I've never seen it before. A Florida tag. It's never come back to anything before. So that's the reason for the stop."

Ayala looks confused. "What was the tag run for?" she asks.

"Oh, we run tags all the time, whether it's traffic lights and that sort of stuff," he answers. "That's how we figure out if cars are stolen and that sort of thing."

Ayala, unimpressed, proceeds to throw the officer some serious shade via side-eye. But he just keeps burying himself deeper: "Also the windows were really dark," the cop explains. "I don't have a tint measure, but that's another reason for the stop."

At this point, the Ninth Circuit state attorney visibly snickers — and asks for both officers' business cards.

As the video of her traffic stop made the rounds this week, Ayala responded with a similar dose of cool and grace — the ultimate burn, really — as she did in her driver's seat on June 19. In a statement issued to Orlando Weekly and other news outlets, she said:

I was pulled over by Orlando Police department on June 19th in Parramore after leaving FAMU Law School, where I taught in the evening. After public records request, the video was released by the Orlando Police Department. Since its release, the video has had more than 2 million views and produced a flood of misinformation. Including the filing of a lawsuit which is not true.

To be clear, I violated no laws. The license plate, while confidential was and remains properly registered. The tint was in no way a violation of Florida law. Although the traffic stop appears to be consistent with Florida law. My goal is to have a constructive and mutually respectful relationship between law enforcement and the community.

I look forward to sitting down to have an open dialogue with the Chief of Orlando Police Department regarding how this incident impacts that goal.

In their own statement, Orlando Police Department officials said department protocol "allows the running of tags for official business only, and this is done routinely on patrol."

And regarding the dash-cam footage, police officials said: "The officers stated the tag did not come back as registered to any vehicle. As you can see in the video, the window tint was dark, and officers would not have been able to tell who, or how many people, were in the vehicle."

Before she was best known across America for schooling local traffic cops, Ayala had been making headlines for her controversial, no-exceptions stance against the death penalty — also involving the Orlando Police Department, as it happens.

A few months back, Rick Scott, Florida's conservative governor, famously pulled Ayala off the murder trial of Markeith Loyd for killing Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, after the state attorney refused to seek the death penalty against Loyd.

Gov. Scott then pulled her off two dozen other murder trials — the legality of which is currently under review by the Florida Supreme Court.

This story has been updated to include additional details. Lead photo courtesy of Aramis Ayala/Facebook