Sheriff won't apologize for remarks on arrest of Black men

Jessica Rodriguez | Naples

Humankind, USA TODAY

NAPLES, Fla. – A Collier County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a speeding motorist this week but did not issue a ticket.

Deputy Robert Pounds thought he was making a routine traffic stop Tuesday at 4 a.m. when he saw a car going 15 mph over the speed limit.

As Pounds approached the car, the driver calmly told him he understood why he stopped him, but he had a good reason.

“Officer, you have the right to stop me, I’m not gonna even lie,” Jean-Louis Wilfrid can be heard telling Pounds in dash-camera footage. “We have a baby coming out.”

His wife, Fabienne Gorges, can be heard screaming from the passenger seat.

“Look look,” Wilfrid said.

Pounds could see the baby's head crowning.

Collier County Sheriff's Office

The deputy called for backup units and an ambulance. He ran back to his patrol car, got a pair of latex gloves and a fresh blanket, and delivered the baby almost immediately.

“Congratulations, you have a baby girl,” he said.

Pounds has three children and has been in the delivery room before, but never on the receiving end, he said.

“It happened so quickly,” Pounds said.

Pounds said the training he received as a Sheriff's Office deputy prepared him for the delivery of the baby.

Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News/USA TODAY - FLORIDA NETWORK, Alex Driehaus

Sheriff’s Sgt. David Drucks – one of the deputies who responded for backup – could hear the stress in Pounds voice on the radio.

"I don’t get shook up too easily, but this was a little nerve-wrecking just because it was a newborn," Pounds said. "My training kicked in and I just wanted to help mom and the baby.

The couple could not be reached for comment.

At first, Pounds thought Wilfrid was just trying to get out of a speeding ticket.

"You'd be surprised, there's several excuses you get for stopping somebody for speeding," Pounds said.

"That was a pretty reasonable excuse."

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