A man dressed as a cop and driving a black SUV with a flashing blue-and-red light bar was arrested on charges of impersonating a peace officer.
Michael Vasquez, 27, of San Bernardino was arrested Wednesday after a sheriff’s deputy saw he had pulled someone over and stopped to help.Vasquez was wearing a blue jumpsuit with the word “sheriff” on the back in big black letters.
Sheriff’s Deputy John Hayes became suspicious, however, when he saw that Vasquez was not wearing a gun and didn’t act appropriately while examining the man’s driver’s license, Sgt. Rick Ells said.
Hayes called a supervisor and a check of Vaquez’s license plate confirmed that he was not a law enforcement officer.
Officials said Vasquez may have been attempting to rob people he pulled over. “We suspect he’s been doing this a while,” Ells said. “We have received information that he has stopped other people.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2006. Read the original PDF.