A 20-year-old Florida man was arrested after authorities said he posed as a police officer and tried to pull over an unmarked patrol car.
Investigators said a detective with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Officer passed a car driven about 8:35 p.m. Monday by Matthew Michael Lee McMahon on International Golf Parkway.
After Detective Chance Anderson drove past in his unmarked vehicle, police said, McMahon activated a red and blue light bar on his 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
"I was shocked to, number one, see somebody affecting a traffic stop on me," Anderson said. "We are a rather large department, but I still know a majority of our law enforcement officers."
Anderson – who specializes in identifying and arresting police impersonators – said he suspected a problem.
"I pulled over to confront the individual, at which point, he pulled up next to me (and) kind of gave me the 'slow down' look and pointed this finger at me,” Anderson said.
Anderson pulled onto the shoulder, but he said the other car drove away.
So the detective conducted a traffic stop on McMahon, who offered several possible reasons for why he owned and used the emergency lights.
After an investigation, police determined McMahon had never been a certified law enforcement officer.
The St. Augustine man was charged with impersonating a police officer and unlawfully displaying blue lights.
A judge set bond at $5,500.
Watch this video report posted online by WUSA-TV:
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