A Pleasant Grove (AL) man driving an unmarked blue Crown Victoria decked out with police lights was arrested today – by the real police.
Jonathan Cole, 36, was taken into custody on Park Road in front of Pleasant Grove City Hall. An officer on patrol spotted the vehicle – with emergency lights activated – and saw a man standing in the roadway. Inside the vehicle, said Lt. Danny Reid, was a bright yellow visibility vest with the word “POLICE” on it, and in the trunk was a book called “Forensics For Dummies.”
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Reid said the department had received complaints of an unmarked police car speeding through Pleasant Grove, and citizens thought it was the sworn officers. It all made sense, he said, when officers found Cole.
Initially Cole told Pleasant Grove officers he worked for a neighboring agency, but when they pressed him for details, he couldn’t provide them with answers. He eventually explained that he bought the Crown Victoria at an auction, and said it already had some of the police lights already installed on the outside of the vehicle. He then bought the lights to go inside the car, and purchased the “police” vest at a gun show.
Cole is charged with impersonating a police officer. His bond is set at $5,000.