Police impersonator arrested on Gulf Freeway

[seamusTX]

Yesterday on I-45 around FM 517, a police impersonator allegedly followed a lone woman driver and activated a blinking blue light inside the windshield of his Pontiac G6 (a very typical police cruiser ).

After pulling the woman over, the suspect continued driving without getting out of the car.

The victim called 911. The 24-year-old suspect was arrested by Webster police and turned over to Texas City, which is where the alleged offense occurred. He was charged with impersonating a peace officer, a felony.

Burby asked drivers to call 911 immediately if they’re unsure whether an unmarked automobile is a legitimate police car.

“They should ask for verification that this person is on duty and one of their officers,” Burby said.

Texas City police are not authorized to work traffic in unmarked vehicles, Burby said, noting anyone pulled over should do so in a safe place.

I need to print this out and laminate it.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/250858" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[Express]

Smart driver. I've was told by local LEO that when you're not sure if your being pulled over by a police, you can always call 911 for verification.

[puma guy]

This is a bad guy! Maybe he'll actually get jail/prison time if and when he's convicted.

[seamusTX]

We would hope, but the default sentence for first-time non-violent offenses seems to be probation (unless they have a mandatory minimum sentence—which mostly is for drug offenses).

Maybe the guy has something else in his background that will result in a prison sentence.

I'm inclined to think this incident may have been one of his earliest exploits, and he either got enough of a thrill pulling over a car or had second thoughts about whatever plan he had.

I knew a guy in college who did something this and was charged with impersonating an officer. He was a decent guy and probably would not have hurt anyone, but he was obsessed with being a first responder. He actually was a volunteer fireman.

- Jim

[VMI77]

We would hope, but the default sentence for first-time non-violent offenses seems to be probation (unless they have a mandatory minimum sentence—which mostly is for drug offenses).

Maybe the guy has something else in his background that will result in a prison sentence.

I'm inclined to think this incident may have been one of his earliest exploits, and he either got enough of a thrill pulling over a car or had second thoughts about whatever plan he had.

I knew a guy in college who did something this and was charged with impersonating an officer. He was a decent guy and probably would not have hurt anyone, but he was obsessed with being a first responder. He actually was a volunteer fireman.

- Jim

It's one thing to pretend to be a cop, or say you're a cop while not attempting to exercise any police authority. It's another thing to actually appropriate police authority. I'm generally against mandatory minimum sentences but someone who goes to the effort of rigging his car to fool people into thinking he's a police officer, and then actually continues his masquerade to the point of pulling someone over, should do real time. This is not just an individual crime --it subverts and undermines legitimate authority and increases the danger to police officers and the public.

[steveincowtown]

This is the part where I say once again that the requirement to present a CHL or notify an officer when you are carry should be removed next session. What if this person was a CHL holder, presented their CHL, and the "officer" disarmed them? Then the "fake" cop, has a real gun.

[jordanmills]

This is the part where I say once again that the requirement to present a CHL or notify an officer when you are carry should be removed next session. What if this person was a CHL holder, presented their CHL, and the "officer" disarmed them? Then the "fake" cop, has a real gun.

Very good point.

[seamusTX]

If the guy wants to be a fake cop, he probably has a real handgun already. And a badge. They sell badges on eBay.

That does not diminish the level of mischief that someone like this could do to an honest citizen. Many of these guys are rapists.

(I actually have a joke badge that would look real enough in the dark. I would never even carry it on my person, of course.)

- Jim

[puma guy]

We would hope, but the default sentence for first-time non-violent offenses seems to be probation (unless they have a mandatory minimum sentence—which mostly is for drug offenses).

Maybe the guy has something else in his background that will result in a prison sentence.

I'm inclined to think this incident may have been one of his earliest exploits, and he either got enough of a thrill pulling over a car or had second thoughts about whatever plan he had.

I knew a guy in college who did something this and was charged with impersonating an officer. He was a decent guy and probably would not have hurt anyone, but he was obsessed with being a first responder. He actually was a volunteer fireman.

- Jim

I think they misspelled his middle name. If so this is not his first rodeo and he's a bad guy that's gotten slapped on the hand for serious offenses in the past. That's all I'm gonna say about that!

[tommyg]

A man named Mr **&$#@%#!

came from a family of LEO s He had a medical condition

that caused him to be inelegiable for law enforcement. He bought a retired police cruser

and made himself a badge and uniform then he started going around

Stopping and serching cars and acting like a super tough cop. He carried a pistol illegally

on a revoked permit got away with it for a couple of weeks. Before a real cop finally caught

up with him the last I heard he was in Jail

[OldCurlyWolf]

Sounds like it only could have turned out better two ways:

1. He never did it at all

2. He had gotten caught quicker.

[KingofChaos]

If the guy wants to be a fake cop, he probably has a real handgun already. And a badge. They sell badges on eBay.

That does not diminish the level of mischief that someone like this could do to an honest citizen. Many of these guys are rapists.

(I actually have a joke badge that would look real enough in the dark. I would never even carry it on my person, of course.)

- Jim

But it could stop you from taking a bullet in the head from point-blank range. If it was a robbery, like the recent similar incident in Alvin, the impersonator might panic when presented with the CHL and start shooting. While I do care for the safety of LEOs, if I was going to shoot one, I'd probably do it before hanging over my license in the first place. Furthermore, we CHL holders are a certified law abiding group, and I think most LEOs would agree that we aren't the ones to be feared. Not to mention the fact that hypothetically EVERYONE could be armed in their car under the MPA. Why should we, people with confirmed clean criminal records, have to notify when others without this confirmation do not? It's blatantly silly... unless there's a portion of the MPA that requires you to inform that I don't know about, but I don't think that's the case.

[seamusTX]

The MPA doesn't require a driver to inform a police officer if he has a weapon, even if asked.

Criminals carrying illegally also are not required to notify.

The CHL law does require presenting a CHL when asked for ID, but there is no penalty for failing to do so. Your favorite state representatives could get this requirement completely removed in 2013 if they wanted to—if the institutional cops did not raise Cain.

In any case, I am not stopping for any car that is not a police cruiser that I recognize as such. If it is in fact a legitimate cop, a whole bunch more real cops are going to show up, and we'll sort things out. If it is a phony, most likely he is not going to keep chasing me.

I don't see a bogus badge playing any useful role in any of this.

- Jim

[terryg]

Police checked with other department’s but found no reports of similar activity, Burby said.

Really? This happened just a little over a month ago not even 15 miles away. It's not similar?? I wonder if it was the same guy?

[seamusTX]

Could be. The incident that you referred to occurred in Brazoria County. Texas City is in Galveston County. The county line is pretty close. I don't know how far "checked with other departments" goes.

- Jim