A Canadian woman was arrested by Florida deputies, as revealed in police body camera footage, after she allegedly provided a false identity during a traffic stop. The arrest took a dramatic turn when investigators found a dozen fraudulent ID cards inside her car.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister shared bodycam footage from July 29, which depicts the deputies pulling over a vehicle in Tampa due to malfunctioning taillights and tag lights.
The driver, identified as 28-year-old Bryce Swanson, initially gave deputies the name “Brianna Valenzuela”. She claimed to possess a driver’s license but admitted she didn’t have it on her at the time, according to the authorities.
During the traffic stop captured on body camera footage, deputies unearthed several allegedly fake identification cards within a vehicle in Tampa, Fla. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
“After initially claiming to have a license, Swanson admitted to deputies that she neither had an ID nor had ever held a valid driver’s license,” Chronister mentioned in a post on X. “Upon searching her car, they discovered 12 driver’s licenses, all featuring her photo but with varied names and birthdates.”
According to authorities, Swanson is a Canadian national who overstayed her visa.
The body camera footage shows a deputy questioning Swanson about her identity after she said she was visiting Florida from New York in a rental vehicle.
“I live in New York,” Swanson said. “I’m here in Florida literally just visiting friends and stuff right now.”
A Hillsborough County deputy speaks with Bryce Swanson during a traffic stop in Tampa, Fla. Investigators later said they discovered 12 fraudulent driver’s licenses in her vehicle. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
The deputy pointed out she did not have any New York identification.
“Your story’s not making a lot of sense to me, right?” the deputy said. “You say you live in New York, but you don’t have any ID in New York.”
When the deputy again asked how she could live in New York without any identification, Swanson replied, “I’ve never had a driver’s license or anything like that.”
Deputies then searched the vehicle and found what investigators described as numerous fraudulent identification cards.
Body camera footage shows a Hillsborough County deputy questioning Bryce Swanson after she allegedly provided a false name during a traffic stop. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
“All these are fake,” one deputy said in the video before placing Swanson under arrest.
Swanson was booked into the Orient Road Jail and charged with driving without a valid driver’s license and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer.
She is being held without bond because of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, according to jail records.
News Media has reached out to ICE for comment.