RCMP say a man has been charged for pretending to be a police officer and ordered to remove the flashing lights from his SUV in connection to an incident in Prince George.
A member of the public reported being approached by a man in a Chevy Tahoe claiming to be an officer at about 10:20 p.m. on March 19.
The caller told Prince George RCMP he first saw the man and vehicle at a gas station on 5th Avenue and Tabor Boulevard. The man then followed the caller in his vehicle onto 5th Avenue, where he activated blue and red flashing police lights, passing the caller’s vehicle.
The caller said he continued onto North Nechako Boulevard when he saw the Tahoe pulled over on the side of the road. The Tahoe followed the caller until the end of the road, where he was attending a bonfire.
There, a man who identified himself as “Officer Maguire” went up to speak with the caller and other attendees. When the group asked the man for his badge number, he gave a number but “became belligerent with the group and began swearing,” police said.
Witnesses said the man then left the area, again activating what appeared to be police lights as he drove away.
Officers patrolled the area and found a man stopped in the parking lot of a trailer park nearby. The man was arrested and held in custody until a bail hearing. He has since been released.
Mounties confirmed Tuesday (March 23) that Patrick Maguire, 29, has been charged with two counts of impersonating a police officer and one count of failing to comply with a probation order.
Maguire was ordered to remove the illegal modifications from his vehicle and have it inspected by a licensed inspection agency before driving it again.
Cpl. Jennifer Cooper confirmed to Black Press Media that this case doesn’t appear to be connected to a similar incident that happened three days later along Highway 33 in Westbridge, between Kelowna and Rock Creek.
Police say a motorist was stopped at about 8:30 p.m. on March 21 by a man in a white pick-up truck with what appeared to be activated police lights. The motorist was able to flee, but was followed for a short distance before the alleged impersonator pulled off the highway.
That suspect is described as an older man with blonde, unkept hair. He is an estimated 6 feet tall, described as clean shaven and was wearing a white dress shirt with a dark pair of casual pants.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Midway RCMP.
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here.
