Joshua Lynam flashed his red and white lights at the driver in front of him Friday, Oct. 16, while on Interstate 110 in Escambia County, Fla., to indicate that the car in front of him should pull over. The driver of the car pulled over, and 24-year-old Lynam, from Milton, Fla., pulled behind it, got out, and conducted a “traffic stop,” according to Sgt. Andrew Hobbs from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office via the Pensacola News Journal.
The next thing that Lynam knows, the person he pulled over puts cuffs on him. Is this a case of anti-police action or a “citizen’s arrest”? A case of mistaken identity? No, according to a NBC Miami report from Saturday. This is a game of cops and robbers gone right, and a warning to motorists about fake cops.
Lynam was playing fake cop using real lights, and he just happened to “pull over” an actual Sheriff’s Deputy from Escambia County who just happened to be driving an unmarked car.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, Sgt. Hobbs said the deputy saw the flashing lights on the grill of the pickup truck behind him, and pulled over so the truck could pass. Instead of passing, Lynam “pretty much did a traffic stop,” related Sgt. Hobbs.
It only took a minute for the deputy to ask for Lynam’s identification, and the deputy arrested him when he couldn’t produce it. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office charged Lynam with impersonating an officer. Lynam eventually paid a $1,000 bond to secure his release.
Prior Incidents By This Fake Cop
Although nothing egregious happened during this “traffic stop,” the Sheriff’s Office believes that Lynam has played fake cop before. He asks anyone who might have been pulled over by Lynam from Santa Rosa County, Fla., all the way to Baldwin County, Ala., to contact the Office at 850-436-9620.
Lynam drives a gold Chevrolet 1500 King Cab pickup truck with Florida license plate number 869-UBN and red and white lights in the grill.
It might be funny to joke about a fake cop pulling over a real cop, but it’s happened no fewer than five times this year, and dozens of fake cop incidents have been the subject of news nationwide.
Playing Fake Cop Is Illegal… Buying Real Cop Equipment Isn’t
Playing fake cop is obviously illegal, and every state restricts the use of red, white, and blue flashing lights. Chapter 13, Section 316.2397 (1)(5)(7) and (9) of Florida’s Motor Vehicle Statute states:
- Flashing lights are prohibited for use by the public,
- Red flashing lights are only used by “emergency response vehicles,”
- Only police use blue lights in any capacity, and
- Using white lights by themselves is restricted to “road maintenance, construction vehicles, school buses, and farm vehicles.
Since using lights is restricted, it logically follows that the buying and selling of lights — and other gear used exclusively by police, fire, and rescue personnel — should also be illegal, but it’s not.
In fact, a quick search in Google shows thousands of companies selling official gear en masse, and anyone can go to Amazon right now and buy a police light bar for any car.
In this particular case, Lynam displayed lights that indicated he was fire or rescue personnel. The deputy knew Lynam wasn’t a real cop because he couldn’t produce ID — not because the deputy knew what the lights’ colors meant. This begs the question…
If a deputy doesn’t know what the lights mean, is it any wonder that criminals continue to use them to dupe the public? Since the current laws don’t deter criminals from using real cop equipment, why not make it illegal to purchase or sell the equipment, except to authorized persons?
