On June 5, Austin police officer Derek Griffin was heading west on Enfield Road in Central Austin trying to get on MoPac.
That day the entrance ramp on MoPac was closed temporarily for the funeral procession of Army Spc. Mathews LaForest, a 21-year-old killed in Iraq after three weeks.
Griffin then received a call asking him to respond to a wreck in East Austin off MLK Boulevard. Instead of turning around and heading east, he hopped on MoPac and headed north.
It didn't take him long to catch up with the funeral procession. Griffin clocked a top speed of 139 miles per hour. The dashboard camera recorded him weaving in and out of the motorcade, from the far left lane to the far right lane.
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Need for speed
Officer Griffin's camera recorded him hitting a top speed of 139 mph past a funeral procession on MoPac.
 
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Asst. Chief Pattie Robinson said it wasn't a "priority one" call because Griffin was only being asked to help investigate afterwards, and there was no excuse speeding during a motorcade.
"Going fast is not the problem. It's the circumstances under which he chose to go that speed. You don't go that speed when you have a lot of people on the highway. When I say a lot of people on the highway, this is a procession, this is a scheduled event," Robinson said.
APD launched an investigation and Griffin resigned last month before he could be reprimanded.
"When you're reckless and your actions are irresponsible then you're not performing part of your job duties," Robinson said.
Griffin joined the force in 2002. He was suspended once in 2006 for three days and in 2007 he served a 20-day suspension for not recording a traffic stop.
