Connecticut State Police arrested a man Wednesday for impersonating an officer. The suspect reportedly placed police lights on his car.
Michael C. Marshall, the 43-year-old driver of the vehicle, acknowledged he was not a police officer nor possessed proper authorization for the use of police lights on his car, according to a police statement. (RELATED: 8-Year-Old Busted For Allegedly Impersonating A Cop After Pulling Over Real Police Officer In Fake Traffic Stop)
Troopers Arrest Groton Man For Impersonating a Police Officer on I-95 in East Havenhttps://t.co/P5tdvduHt7
— CT State Police (@CT_STATE_POLICE) October 27, 2023
Marshall confessed to putting the lights up to be able to drive faster and shorten his commute time to work, the press statement noted. Marshall’s car was towed from the scene, and he was taken into custody, police said.
Marshall posted bail at $5,000 and will be in court for arraignment Nov. 13, the press released noted.
Impersonating a police officer is a felony in Connecticut General Statutes that could carry a maximum five year jail sentence, criminal lawyer Allan F. Friedman noted on his website. Friedman writes the state must prove the defendant pretended to be an officer of the law and used the pretense “to induce a third party into submitting” to “the defendant’s authority or to rely upon the representation.”
A 2012 academic article exploring cases from 2002 to 2010 found the most common type of impersonation of an officer “involves an offender driving an unmarked car who uses a spotlight or red and blue flashing lights for a pull-over.”