Dashcam clears rumor around Key West commissioner’s speeding stop

A speeding stop involving Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman turned into a campaign-season flash point after supporters of Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez spread claims online that he had blown past the 20-mph limit, but dashcam video from the Key West Police Department showed a brief stop near Key Plaza that ended with only a verbal warning.

Kaufman was pulled over on Northside Drive just before 10 a.m. on April 9, during a stretch of traffic that quickly became part of the city’s mayoral race. Some Henriquez supporters said Kaufman was traveling more than double the posted limit and suggested he might have used his elected position to avoid a ticket. The video and police account told a much less dramatic story. The officer’s patrol car was behind Publix at Key Plaza when Kaufman’s Kia Telluride passed by, and the officer then pulled out and stopped him near Regal Cinema.

The stop lasted less than three minutes, according to the report, and ended with a verbal warning. Kaufman later acknowledged the stop on Facebook and said he had been speeding, should not have been driving that fast and took full responsibility. He also said he would never use his position to get out of a ticket and did not know whether the officer recognized him as a commissioner.

The episode landed in the middle of a contested 2026 mayor’s race that has already sharpened attention on the city’s politics. Kaufman, who has represented District 2 for about a decade and served as vice-mayor from 2018 through 2024, formally entered the race against Henriquez. Henriquez was sworn in as mayor on Aug. 26, 2024 after previously serving as Monroe County tax collector. Key West’s municipal primary is set for Aug. 18, 2026, with any runoff in November if needed.

The city’s own election rules add another layer to the campaign calendar: commission elections are held in even-numbered years on the national primary election date, and the mayor runs at large. In a city still living with the fallout from a 2025 grand jury report on corruption and misconduct inside city government, even a routine traffic stop can become evidence in a larger argument about trust, power and how quickly social media can turn a few seconds on Northside Drive into political theater.