A man impersonating a police officer pulled over a real police officer in Florida on July 4 and was arrested.
Barry Lee Hastings Jr. 35, flashed white and amber lights on his black Crown Victoria as he drove behind an off-duty Lee County Sheriff’s deputy.
They both pulled to the side of the road.
Hastings walked up to the deputy’s vehicle, asserting himself as a law enforcement officer.
When the deputy asked him for his credentials, Hastings said he’d left them behind at the office, reported WFLA, citing the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Hastings asked the deputy to travel with him to the “station” so he could show deputy the credentials.
After the deputy threatened to call 911, Hastings rushed back to his car and drove off.
He was stopped nearby and arrested by a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy found a siren box, a “citizens band,” or CB, radio, and the lights in the vehicle, according to Fox 13. There was no guns or handcuffs.
The incident began at around 8:30 p.m.
Hastings was charged with impersonating a police officer.
According to Florida law, “A person who deliberately impersonates or falsely acts as a public officer or employee in connection with or relating to any legal process affecting persons and property, or otherwise takes any action under color of law against persons or property, commits a felony of the third degree.”
Men Impersonate Officers, Shoot Woman
A Texas woman said that three men pretending to be police officers barged into her house and shot her.
The situation unfolded in Houston around 10 p.m. on May 30, the woman, who was not named, told KTRK.
She said that the men shouted “police!” When she saw one of them had a pistol, she retrieved her firearm.
The men barged into the house, leading to a shootout between them and the resident.
The men eventually fled while the woman, who was hit in the arm, was rushed to a hospital.
A nearby incident may be connected, officers said.
Men impersonating police force their way into woman’s home and shoot her in SE Houston https://t.co/vGf32wSKR5 pic.twitter.com/IXNjH9cMPA
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) June 1, 2019
Just moments after the men fled the scene, a 23-year-old man driving nearby narrowly avoided hitting a man who was sprinting across the street. The driver stopped. Then, someone inside of a parked car shot at him.
The man who was sprinting across the street then hopped in the car, the man said.
Police are exploring a possible connection.
According to the Texas penal code, impersonating a public service, such as a police officer, is a third-degree felony.
The law states: “A person commits an offense if he: (1) impersonates a public servant with intent to induce another to submit to his pretended official authority or to rely on his pretended official acts; or (2) knowingly purports to exercise any function of a public servant or of a public office, including that of a judge and court, and the position or office through which he purports to exercise a function of a public servant or public office has no lawful existence under the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States.”
