Article published November 08, 2002
Phony traffic stop backfires
Teens with strobe lights pull over Adrian's police chief
ADRIAN - Memo to cop wannabes: When impersonating a police officer, never pull over the real thing.
A pair of Adrian teenagers did just that Wednesday, when they attempted a traffic stop on Adrian's police chief.
Chief Mike Martin was driving home from work on M-52 near Howell Highway just north of the city limits around 6:30 p.m. when a 1997 black Dodge Intrepid following him flashed a set of strobe lights.
Mr. Martin, in full uniform, dutifully pulled over and got out of his private car.
At that point, the teens started to back up, but stopped when the chief motioned to them to do so, the chief reported.
"I'm sure it was sight to behold," Chief Martin said yesterday of the teens' reaction. "I'm sure they didn't anticipate that at all. They were very shocked."
Chief Martin said the car was equipped with white and blue strobe lights mounted on the dashboard.
The chief confiscated their driver's licenses and ordered the pair to follow him to the police department for further questioning, where they admitted they had stopped other vehicles using the flashing lights.
The Lenawee County Sheriff's Department is investigating.
The pair told the chief and sheriff's deputies they would get behind a vehicle, activate the lights, and drive away when the motorist pulled over.
Officer Derek Helinski said he stopped the driver on Tuesday and told the youth to disconnect the lights because they are illegal for use by a civilian.
Chief Martin said after the incident, other reports of false police stops have come to light, although none of the instances involve the police impersonators leaving their car.
"We just don't know what they were up to," he said.
The case was turned over to the county prosecutor's office for a possible charge of impersonating a police officer.
"They had more than ample warning," Chief Martin said.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
Search
advertisement
