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It was all part of a conspiracy to silence her politically, Wadsack claims in the lawsuit filed in federal court.

It also alleges the whole incident, with Wadsack being stopped near the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ campus in March 2024, was designed to “target her for prosecution on trumped up and phony charges, chill Ms. Wadsack’s political free speech, and knowingly and wrongfully interfere with her right to hold public office and pursue her chosen occupations.’’

The negative publicity surrounding all of this amounted to a $9 million gift in free media for Vince Leach, says Dennis Wilenchik, her attorney. After Wadsack was stopped and later cited, Leach defeated Wadsack in the Republican primary last August in LD 17, which covers portions of eastern and northern Pima County and spills into Pinal County. Leach then went on to win the general election.

In her lawsuit, Wadsack claims she is able to show more than $8 million in damages directly caused by the city and its officers, “not inclusive of emotional distress, psychic trauma and other general damages incurred.’’

A police spokesman said Sunday the agency could not comment on litigation. There was no immediate response from the city attorney’s office.

All this stems from an incident a year ago when she was pulled over on East Speedway by officer Ryder Schrage, who said he caught her on radar going 71 miles an hour in a 35 mph zone. Wadsack said she was “racing to get home’’ because the battery in her all-electric Tesla was about to run out of charge.

“I was not doing 70,’’ she is heard telling the officer who recorded the interaction on his body camera.

“Yes you were,’’ he responded. “I was behind you. I had my radar on.’’

Wadsack also identified herself as a state lawmaker.

A few minutes later, the audio on the officer’s body camera goes mute, presumably when he was checking with superiors.

She was not ticketed immediately based on a provision in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Constitution saying that legislators “shall be privileged from arrests in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace’’ starting from 15 days ahead of the legislative session and running until lawmakers adjourn for the year.

Wadsack eventually was cited for criminal speeding — it is a misdemeanor to drive more than 20 miles over the limit in a business or residential district — as well as failure to provide proof of insurance.

The case was dismissed in January after Wadsack completed a defensive driving course and proved she had the legally required coverage.

In the new lawsuit, Wilenchik contends it’s irrelevant even if Wadsack were speeding, a point he does not concede.

“She should never have been stopped,’’ he wrote, presumably because of the legislative identification placard attached to her license plate.

And Wilenchik said Wadsack “never believed she would be ticketed after the legislative session ended.’’

And then, he said, police never provided any evidence she was speeding, whether in the form of body camera footage or radar.

All that goes to the heart of the claim that Wadsack was “singled out’’ in being stopped and then charged with a misdemeanor after the session ended.

“It is believed that this was all part of a plan of members of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Police Department to act in concert with not yet known city officials to ruin plaintiff’s good reputation because she was introducing legislation these members of TPD felt were adverse to their interests,’’ Wilenchik wrote.

All that, he said, comes because she was investigating ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ police, was an “outspoken critic’’ of city government, was a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, and “because she is a woman and her primary opponent was a man who TPD officials felt could be better controlled than plaintiff.’’

As to the city’s problems with her, Wilenchik said they were upset because she was pushing two bills. One would have scrapped voting centers — where anyone can cast a ballot — and instead returned to when people could vote only at their local precincts. The other sought a constitutional amendment to wipe out the ability of cities like ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to have home rule through their own charters.

Neither measure was approved.

But all that, her attorney charged, was to harm Wadsack and her legislative position “by charging her with the bogus traffic crimes, and publicizing it, knowing that by revealing it to media outlets, adverse publicity would ensure and cause her to either drop out, or lose her primary race she otherwise would have won, thus seriously harming her future occupation as a legislator and harming her career as a real estate agent.’’

Then there was an incident in June — after she was stopped but before she was issued the citation — where Wilenchik said his client was trying to help a constituent who said she had been harassed by ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ police.

“Shortly thereafter, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ PD endorsed Sen. Wadsack’s opponent in the Republican primary, and sue to their efforts in besmirching plaintiff’s reputation,’’ he wrote. More likely, he meant the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Fraternal Order of Police as the department does not do endorsements.

Wadsack also took exception to a report filed by Lt. Lauren Pettey who said that the senator, in a conversation with her, claimed she was the victim of “political persecution.’’ Wadsack said she did not say that but that the comment, put in a police report, became part of news reports.

Aside from claiming her civil rights were violated and that she is the victim of law enforcement retaliatory conduct, Wadsack also is complaining that the city has a “policy of inaction’’ in ensuring and being able to prove the scientific reliability of patrol car radar readouts “and such inaction amounts to a failure to protect constitutional rights.’’