GIG HARBOR, Wash —Pierce County deputies arrested a man for impersonating an officer, the third incident of its kind in Western Washington in recent months.
This time, deputies say the man outfitted his vehicle to have flashing blue lights and even tried pulling over a driver in Gig Harbor on Sunday, despite prior warnings from law enforcement.
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“The front of this vehicle had blue flashing lights in the headlights and they were using them to flash vehicles over either to move over or to pull over,” PCSO Deputy Carly Cappetto explained, adding the driver in a silver Volkswagen sedan had been in Gig Harbor impersonating an officer for an unknown amount of time.
She said a deputy pulled over the impersonator before he could make a potential traffic stop.
“The suspect was not dressed in any tactical gear or anything that would look police-oriented, but it’s unsure why he was flashing the lights, and it was a clear indicator, too, that the vehicles that were on the road were yielding to his vehicle, and you can tell there was confusion,” Dep. Cappetto said.
The deputy even recognized the 24-year-old driver because he reportedly gave him a warning just 15 minutes earlier when he had his blue lights flashing in a parking lot.
At this second meeting, the driver was arrested for impersonating a police officer and deputies took the vehicle to be searched after getting a warrant.
“[There were] no weapons, no guns. We’re not really sure what the intent was, but still very concerning for the community,” Dep. Cappetto added.
This comes days after Burien police arrestedanother impersonatorthey said threatened to kill someone while flashing what looks like a sheriff’s badge.
In September, Bremerton police arrested a man forgoing to active police scenesin an unmarked SUV with blue lights and while wearing an Edmonds police badge and body armor.
“Is there anything the sheriff’s office can do to keep something like this from happening?” ‘s Jackie Kent asked.
“I think just getting it out there on social media that we take this very seriously. We will arrest on it. It’s a gross misdemeanor charge,” Dep. Cappetto responded.The suspect was booked into jail Sunday night then released two hours later. A spokesperson with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said prosecutors are reviewing whether to move forward with formal charges.
트위터 공유: 가짜 경찰 조명으로 체포된 남성 지역 사회 불안 증폭