A fake cop stuck red and blue lights behind the dash of an old Chevy pickup. Then he found a Tesla on Interstate 17 in Phoenix and tried to pull it over. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says he had no authority to stop anybody. That tends to matter in a traffic stop.
What DPS says happened on I-17
According to the DPS release, it happened around 8:29 a.m. on Thursday, September 17, on southbound I-17 near Dove Valley Road. The truck was an older gray or silver Chevrolet, 2500-series style. The lights sat above the dash, visible through the windshield. A man and a woman were in the Tesla. The man behind the lights wore a red polo, dark jeans and a ball cap. That reads less “state trooper” and more “guy who wants to talk to you about your extended warranty.”
A caller stayed at the scene and kept DPS updated while troopers headed over. When troopers arrived, they determined the man had no law enforcement authority or affiliation. They arrested him on a charge of impersonating a police officer, ABC15 reported. azfamily reports he also faces unlawful imprisonment and kidnapping charges, and calls it the third arrest for impersonating law enforcement in Maricopa County in a month. Those are allegations, not convictions.
DPS wants to hear from anyone else he stopped
DPS says it put out the information because it worries the man, or someone driving a similarly equipped vehicle, “may have stopped other motorists.” If you think that truck pulled you over, call 1-877-4AZ-TIPS or file a report at azactic.gov/report.
We’ve seen a version of this before
If this sounds familiar, it should. We covered a New Mexico security guard who allegedly tried to pull over an off-duty State Police captain on I-40 in November 2023. The captain told KRQE the guy ran blue lights up front and red lights in back. The captain started to pull over, assuming the unfamiliar car belonged to the sheriff’s office. The lights went off and the car kept rolling. So the captain called it in.
State police showed up. The guard told them he was a private police officer working for a company, and he denied impersonating anyone. He argued he was in charge because he was on property he was paid to patrol. Traffic laws generally don’t stop at the edge of a parking lot. He got a misdemeanor citation that carries up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Then the case took a detour. The charge was dismissed without prejudice because the primary officer didn’t sign the citation. State Police refiled after reviewing the evidence, and he pleaded not guilty. We haven’t found any reporting on how it ended.
Different budgets, same basic plan: flashing lights, a confident attitude and the hope that the other driver doesn’t ask questions. We’ve seen it from a security guard in a Ford Taurus in Florida, a black Dodge Charger working northern Georgia and southern North Carolina, and an Indiana man cited over red-and-blue lights and a police radio in his Ford Explorer. One Florida man tried a fake stop on an undercover deputy in a Chevy Suburban. Bold choice of victim.
It isn’t always a bad prank
The lights are the easy part. What happens after you pull over is the problem. Carjackers posing as police kidnapped a Tennessee driver during a fake traffic stop. That’s the scenario everybody fears.
How to tell a real traffic stop from a fake cop
DPS gives drivers who aren’t sure four steps. Turn on your hazard lights to acknowledge the officer. Drive to a well-lit, populated area before you stop. Call 911 to confirm the stop is legitimate. Keep your doors locked while you verify credentials. If the person behind the lights has a problem with any of that, that tells you something.
Should private security vehicles look this much like police cruisers? We asked that when we covered the New Mexico stop. After this month in Arizona, it’s still a fair question.