Chester Township Police: 2 Men Accused Of Impersonating Cops Had Siren Built Into Car's Grill
Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter
CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- Police in Delaware County say they have arrested someone pretending to be one of them. The officer impersonator and a partner were allegedly even operating a car fitted out just like a police cruiser.
Chester Township police are worried about two men who are accused of going to elaborate lengths to pretend to be cops. Both men were spotted last Monday in a dark gray Dodge Charger.
An actual Chester Township police officer just happened to spot the Charger with red and blue flashing lights on.
9-Year-Old Girl Critically Injured In Hit-And-Run In Olney, Police Say
It was 3:30 in the afternoon, and the Charger was going down Interstate-95. It appeared be attempting to pull another vehicle over.
"As it passed my location, it turned the lights off quickly," says Chester Township Police Officer Jay Rattmann. "It just didn't settle right, obviously, when they passed me."
So being a real cop, with real cop instincts, Rattmann sprung into action.
"We conducted a check of the registration, just to confirm, and it was registered as a personal vehicle," said Rattmann.
The real cop pulled over the fake one, but the Dodge Charger driver was still trying to follow through with his impersonation.
"The subject stated he was law enforcement, that he was working in an undercover capacity," Rattmann added.
The driver later claimed he was a bounty hunter instead.
Neither turned out to be true and Rattmann arrested Kaumualli Draine of Chester with impersonating a law enforcement officer. Draine's passenger, Nidir Muhammad, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy, along with possession of a firearm.
Mark D'Amico, Man Accused Of Taking Money From Homeless Vet's GoFundMe, Arrested On Traffic Warrant
A further inspection of the fake cop car revealed it had a police siren built into the front grill. There was a police scanner and portable police lights found inside.
It's unclear if this was the pairs' first attempt to pull a car over, or if this had been going on for a while.
"We just want to put the description of the vehicle out. It's a dark gray Dodge Charger, heavily tinted windows. If anybody has had this vehicle either approach them or try to stop them, we would certainly like you to contact Chester Township police. Let us know about it," said Rattmann.
Both Draine and Muhammad have already made bail, but they could be re-arrested and face further charges if someone, in fact, comes forward saying they encountered the two men pretending to be police.
