During a traffic stop for speeding, a driver offers the officer a gift card to Dunkin. Which offenses are most appropriate?

• A. Bribery and speeding infraction
• B. Reckless driving
• C. Obstructing an officer
• D. Disorderly conduct

Answer: (A)

Offering something of value to a public official to influence how they perform their duties is bribery. In this scenario, the driver tries to sway the officer’s actions by giving a Dunkin gift card, which is an attempt to corrupt the officer’s official duties. Bribery is a crime even if the bribe isn’t accepted, because the act shows the intent to influence. At the same time, the stop was made for speeding, so the underlying traffic violation—speeding—remains a charge. Other options don’t fit as tightly: obstructing an officer would involve actively hindering the officer’s duties in a concrete way beyond just offering a bribe, and disorderly conduct isn’t indicated by this scenario. Reckless driving is a separate traffic offense and not the direct issue here, where the decisive action is the bribery attempt paired with the speeding violation.