It’s important for drivers to follow lawful orders made by the police. But one woman in Illinois had to learn the hard way what happens when she refused to step out of her vehicle after cops caught her driving erratically in the middle of the night. Bodycam footage shows what could have been a simple routine traffic stop turn into a difficult encounter that had officers pull the woman out by force.
Video shows cops asking woman to step out of the car numerous times
On September 3, 2026, at around 2:10 a.m., 35-year-old Jordan Weeks was arrested near the 900 block of E. Church Street after refusing to get out of her car multiple times and charged with a DUI and obstruction, according to a release by the Sandwich Police Department in Illinois.
Bodycam footage taken from the patrol officer, by way of Police Release on YouTube, shows what led up to Weeks’ arrest. The video says that the officer had seen the woman running a stop sign and repeatedly drifting across the road, suggesting that she might have been driving while intoxicated. After turning on his police lights, the woman pulls her lime-green Jeep into a gas station next to a Casey’s General Store.
The officer approaches the woman and tells her that she was crossing into other lanes and speeding. He asks for her license and insurance, and while she complies, she doesn’t roll down her window and doesn’t answer some of his questions.
Back in his patrol car, he tells another officer how badly Weeks was driving and that she hasn’t been that compliant. “If I didn’t stop her, she was going to kill someone,” the cop explains. “That’s the worst driving I’ve seen in a long time.”
The officer then realizes that the insurance card he received was expired and asks her to provide him with proof of insurance that is valid. He then orders the woman out of the vehicle, but she refuses. Weeks says that she doesn’t need to, since she claims she didn’t do anything wrong.
After she chooses not to comply multiple times, the cop cites a Supreme court case, referencing Pennsylvania v. Mimms, where officers can order a driver out of a lawfully stopped vehicle without violating the Fourth Amendment, per Justia. However, this information fails to convince the driver of anything.
While the woman argues with the cop, another officer drops a stop stick in front of the vehicle as a precaution in case she drives off. Meanwhile, the cop continues to explain that he believes she’s under the influence. After repeated refusals to get out, he tells her that he’s going to bust her window open, giving her numerous attempts to comply and even having another officer try to convince her to step out. Even after being told that her behavior will add an obstruction charge, she remains in her seat and then begins to record the encounter with her phone.
That’s when the officer takes out what looks to be a center punch and places it against the lower-right corner of the driver’s seat window. A simple press and entire window shatters, sending glass shards all over the vehicle, some of which lands on the woman’s pants. He then reaches over the window sill and unlocks the door from the other side.
Once the door is opened by force, the officer drags the woman out of the front seat before grabbing the phone out of her hand and placing handcuffs on her. She’s then taken to the patrol car as the officers take inventory of the car before it’s towed.
Weeks was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer. She also received citations for a stop sign violation, improper lane use, speeding, and driving without insurance. Weeks was released with a notice to appear at a future LaSalle County court date in Ottawa, Illinois.
