A Michigan teen who was allegedly posing as a police officer picked the wrong woman to try to pull over late Monday night with the red-and-blue flashing lights mounted to his BMW.
The driver of the other car turned out to be an off-duty Waterford Township cop.
Whoops.
The incident began on Highway M-59 in Rochester Hills, about 30 miles north of Detroit, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a news release that was titled, “Karma Bites Phony Cop Trying to Pull Over Real Cop in Traffic Stop.”
The sheriff said the real police officer immediately recognized something was not quite right about the situation, so she didn’t immediately pull over.
Instead, she called the sheriff’s office to report a possible police impersonator.
Deputies were dispatched to investigate.
When the alleged fake cop passed her, she turned the tables on him and followed him to confront him.
“She identified herself as a police officer and asked [him] for identification,” Bouchard said in the statement.
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“He claimed he was [a] Detroit police officer from the 12th Precinct. She asked him for identification, and he said he needed to retrieve it from his car.”
But instead of returning with his ID, the young man “went back to his car and drove away,” Bouchard reported.
“The off-duty officer followed him to a trailer park … but lost sight of his vehicle.
“Deputies later found the vehicle and [the suspect], who was switching license plates from the BMW to another BMW he owned.”
The suspect was arrested “after a short foot chase.”
Bouchard reported that the young man, identified as Christian Katan Mansoor, 18, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of impersonating a police officer, a misdemeanor.
Mansoor was released on a $5,000 personal bond, according to the report.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for May 3, the Detroit News reported.
In Michigan, a conviction for impersonating an officer can lead to a jail term of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Multiple offenders can face a felony charge, with a jail sentence of up to 4 years, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
“Individuals that pose as police officers present a threat to the public and undermine legitimate law enforcement,” Bouchard said in the statement.
“Thankfully, this individual was caught and is being held accountable for this incident.”
He asked anyone who had a similar incident happen to them to contact the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
