By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Newly obtained police body camera footage from a six-year-old traffic stop is raising new questions about an Arizona state lawmaker currently running for one of the state’s highest offices.
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The video obtained by Arizona’s Family shows Scottsdale police officers detaining Alexander Kolodin, who currently serves as a Republican state representative and is running for secretary of state—Arizona’s top election official.
The incident occurred in 2020, approximately two years before Kolodin was elected to the state legislature.
According to police reports and body camera footage, Scottsdale police officers initiated the stop after spotting a vehicle with no visible license plates.
While following the vehicle, officers reported seeing a passenger throw an “unidentifiable shiny object” out of the window. Police suspected the object might be some sort of contraband or a container of alcohol, which is a criminal offense even if the passenger, rather than the driver, is consuming it.
After the vehicle pulled into a parking lot, police ordered Kolodin to walk backward toward them before placing him in handcuffs.
Officers discovered a firearm in the front seat, which is why Kolodin and the driver were placed in handcuffs. However, police later determined the weapons did not belong to Kolodin, but rather to the driver, who was a friend of his.
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Kolodin has denied throwing a drink container from the vehicle, maintaining that he had only thrown ice out of the window.
According to police records, officers located a can of “Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Raspberry Rosé” near the scene. After issuing a warning and pouring out the remaining contents of the can, officers issued Kolodin a ticket for criminal littering.
In a statement responding to the footage, Kolodin reiterated his defense: “The police incorrectly mistook it as a drink container; however after reviewing their evidence they were unable to substantiate that claim.”
Public records indicate that Kolodin was never criminally charged in connection with the incident. Kolodin said that the matter was ultimately resolved as a civil littering violation.
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