Police: Man used fake police lights to beat traffic
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police in Oregon say a Washington man wove through interstate traffic at 80 mph with phony police lights flashing.
In his passenger seat was his 12-year-old son.
Marion County deputies didn't recognize the 2009 Nissan Maxima as one of their own unmarked vehicles. And when the driver passed a marked police car, the lights went off.
James Winfrey a 27-year-old from Vancouver, Wash., told police he was only using the lights to help him catch up to friends.
Deputies say they found no evidence that Winfrey was attempting to pull over cars and falsely represent himself as a police officer.
Winfrey was cited for disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and traffic violations.
In his passenger seat was his 12-year-old son.
Marion County deputies didn't recognize the 2009 Nissan Maxima as one of their own unmarked vehicles. And when the driver passed a marked police car, the lights went off.
James Winfrey a 27-year-old from Vancouver, Wash., told police he was only using the lights to help him catch up to friends.
Deputies say they found no evidence that Winfrey was attempting to pull over cars and falsely represent himself as a police officer.
Winfrey was cited for disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and traffic violations.
He should have also been charged with impersonating an officer.
And the rest of the story...How did this guy get a hold of a supposedly unmarked police car? Auto theft? Typical media hogwash.
@sdb1147Â they sell them at auction and you can buy the lights online.
idiot
Not as bad as the local fire chief using his lights to go through traffic when it wasn't an emergency. Â Every day I walked by a particularly hefty stretch of traffic, and there he'd be, waiting in line like everyone else. Â If the traffic was a bit too snarled for his tastes, those lights would go on just enough to get past a few lights, then he'd just go about his business. Â I sent a note to the firestation and the Mayor, and within a few days, he was just hanging back like any other driver. Â As he should have. Â
wow....so he had a kid when he was 15....
@V Nobody is claiming he is smart. After all, he was trying to pass a 2009 Nissan Maxima off as a police car.
â@komonews: Police:Vancouver man used fake police lights to beat traffic komonews.com\/news\/offbeat\/Pâ¦myIâ He's 27 & has 12-yr old son? Lovely...
@komonews what's the story on the UW bridge accident? Any news?