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The American Cop Whose Kindness and Wit Has Made Him Famous

Arizona officer’s approach is based on Stoicism and Servant Leadership


spinner image Frank Sloup leans against a pinal county sheriff’s office car with flashing blue and red lights
Courtesy Pinal County Sheriff's Office

A certain Arizona sheriff’s deputy is closing in on a million Facebook followers. The nearly 100 YouTube videos of him on patrol often clock 1 million views. He can’t walk into a grocery store without fans asking for selfies.

Who is this darling of social media and why is he so popular?

He is Traffic Unit Deputy Frank Sloup of the Pinal County’s Sheriff’s Office. Sloup, 45, is a witty, articulate, utterly unflappable law enforcement officer whose routine traffic stops—in which he often cuts an offender a break—have turned into must-see clips.

Look up “Fridays with Frank” on your favorite platform if you want to get an inside look at the realities of day-to-day policing and how a little kindness and straight-shooting approach can go a long way.

It began when the sheriff’s office was looking for a way to improve awareness of local and state laws.

“We had this new hands-free driving law and we had to get the word out,” Sloup, a 21-year police veteran, told AARP Experience Counts. “At the time, I was assigned to the traffic unit. The public information officer, Sam Salzwedel, rode along to make a video to let folks know we’re going to be enforcing the law across the state.

spinner image several people representing multiple generations smile while talking to each other at a barbecue

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“This lady — a Karen — her reaction to me was not very nice. That was one of the first episodes. And we — the agency — just put it out there.” 

Sloup stayed cool despite the woman’s rudeness and a series was born. Viewers were drawn to his deadpan responses.

“People want to ride in the front seat of a cop car,” Sloup explained. “Look at shows like Cops, which has been on for decades. And all the movies about law enforcement, about doing the job. A job that not just anyone can do. You see law enforcement all the time, and I think there’s a certain curiosity about what actually happens. How we get to an end result. People want to know,” he said.

Sloup credits his calm demeanor to Stoicism, a philosophy that cultivates acceptance by focusing on things we can control, like emotions, while accepting the things we cannot, like others’ reactions. Sloup said he took up the practice of Stoicism during his graduate studies.

“I don’t yell in my personal or professional life. I don’t react emotionally to almost anything,” he said. “When someone’s a jerk, I don’t have to tamp reactions down. Just not one iota. They don’t even exist in my world.”

He also became aware of a leadership style known as Servant Leadership. It is a leadership philosophy that says effective leaders strive to serve others rather than accrue power or control.

Sloup agreed that part of his popularity may be his non-adversarial approach to law enforcement.

He said when he pulls someone over, “We’re going to talk about what you did with as much cordiality as possible. It’s up to you. And something about the way I talk has people react well to me. I don’t understand why, whether it’s my facial expressions, mannerisms, whatever. My style lends itself towards positive interactions.”

Another attraction may be Sloup’s unexpected sense of humor. In one episode, he asks a driver who repeatedly changed lanes without signaling whether she was out of blinker fluid. In another video, he commiserates with a speeder, telling her he understands her “big Altima energy.”

“I get it. You just want to drive fast in this car,” he tells her. He suggests to yet another speeder, who is clearly lying about rushing to a hospital that perhaps ambulances are better at getting folks there fast.

In another traffic stop, Sloup masterfully balances — and articulates — his obligation to hold accountable a man very recently released from prison against Sloup’s own understanding that the man could really use a chance to rebuild his life. In Sloup’s own words, “I’m not empatheticless.”

The video comments sections contain an outpouring of appreciation for his clear, non-judgmental explanations of how someone broke the law.

Viewers also dig Sloup’s passion for his work.

Sloup shrugs off the praise. “The job can be unbelievably incredible and unbelievably terrible, minutes apart. My job is to put bad guys in jail and make good guys feel safe. So I think at its simplest level, that’s what the videos show.”

By now, locals routinely recognize Sloup, and he’s delighted. “These videos have humanized me. I get to be approachable. I’m this crazy ambassador.

“I show that law enforcement can do our jobs, sometimes have fun and be human. I’m going to hold you accountable for going 23 miles per hour over the limit and driving crazy. But we can still talk about bass fishing and shake hands, even if I’m doing my job and you’re not happy about it.”

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