A Canadian pulled over in Florida with 12 pieces of fake identification with her told police she’d never had a valid driver’s licence, officers in Florida say. The woman, identified as 28-year-old Bryce Swanson, allegedly made the admission to officers in west-central Florida late last month. The incident was captured by a police body camera on July 29 in Hillsborough County, an area of Florida that includes Tampa. A time stamp on the video suggests it was filmed at about 10:40 p.m. Off camera, an officer can be heard telling the woman in the video that her tail lights weren’t on despite the dark, for which the driver says she is “so sorry.” The officer then tells the driver that her tag lights, which light up the vehicle’s licence plate, are also out. He asks for her licence, and the driver says she doesn’t have it on her. “My boyfriend is supposed to meet me over there and he’s supposed to come get the car for me,” she says. When asked if she has a licence at all, she responds that she does, it’s just not on her. She then tells the officer the vehicle is a rental, and that it was rented by her boyfriend. She’s heard saying she’s from New York and in Florida visiting friends. She gives the name Brianna Valenzuela. The edited video jumps ahead about seven minutes to a point where “Brianna” is asked to get out of the car as police try to “figure out what’s going on.” “So basically, your story’s not making a lot of sense to me,” the officer says. He questions why she doesn’t have ID for New York, to which she responds that she wasn’t born in the state. The woman, who was a short time ago behind the wheel of a vehicle, then says, “I’ve never had a driver’s licence or anything.” The video again jumps ahead to a view of an open trunk and an officer thumbing through a stack of cards, saying, “All these are fake.” The woman is then seen being put into the back of a police vehicle. Officers with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) allege the stack of cards included 12 driver’s licences with photos of the same woman, but with different names and birth dates. They say that, after identifying the woman, they learned Swanson is from Canada and had overstayed her visa. It was not immediately clear where in Canada Swanson is from, as records put her address as “at large,” and “no address.” Police and court records show Swanson has been charged with “fraudulent use of personal information over $5,000 or 10 but less than 20 victims.” Records from the HSCO show she is also charged with not having a valid driver’s licence “(first offence)” and giving a false name to law enforcement. Bond was set at US$18,000. Swanson is marked as being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Falkenburg Road Jail, a detention centre in Brandon, Fla. In an email to CTV News, Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of a Canadian detained in Tampa, Fla., and that consular officials “stand ready to provide assistance.” Spokesperson Samantha Lafleur said consular officials are contacting authorities in the area and that no further information would be provided due to privacy reasons. Global Affairs pointed to a website outlining the types of assistance that may be provided to Canadians in the event they are arrested abroad. CTVNews.ca has reached out to HSCO and Florida court officials. This article will be updated if more information becomes available.
