Things Not To Do: Police Edition July 27, 2009

On the list of things not to do when inpersonating a police officer, right up there with trying to hold up a police station, is pulling over a real officer. One Oakland man appearntly missed that memo and pulled over an undercover officer.

Police said Martinez, who was arrested Wednesday, at first denied trying to stop the officer’s vehicle. But Officer Jim Beere, an undercover officer assigned to the vice/child exploitation unit whose vehicle Martinez was trying to stop, said Martinez later claimed he thought Beere was a member of a street gang he was having problems with and wanted to see who he was.

“He was in a black Ford Crown Victoria similar to our unmarked cars,” Beere said. “He accelerated and turned on some flashing lights on his dash board. In the grill it looked like he had red and blue lights that seemed to be on, but they turned out to be painted speakers he had for a microphone he had in his hand and appeared to be talking into.”

[Cop impersonator arrested after trying to stop real Oakland officer, police say]