- Arrest made in the case of dog with taped muzzle
- School lunch lady fired after providing lunches for kids who couldn't afford it
- MUST SEE: Couple finds snake in spice cabinet, eating egg
- Officer who told teen his parents were killed attends his graduation
- Man raises eyebrows carrying rifle through Atlanta airport
A driver used a cellphone to record a video Tuesday when he started to suspect his traffic stop was being conducted by someone pretending to be an officer.
William Maupin said he was northbound on Interstate 405 in Kirkland with his friend when he realized two cars were tailgating him.
Maupin said he left the carpool lane to allow them to pass then moved back in.
He said he soon saw the second car turn on blue and red lights. He thought he was being pulled over.
“I did what everyone usually does, is pull over to the side of the road and come to a complete stop,” Maupin said.
Maupin believed it was an officer in an unmarked car, but the man did not stop behind him. Instead he pulled around Maupin and parked 75 yards in front of him.
“We’re just kind of – ‘What’s going on here?’ This isn’t a normal routine stop,” Maupin said.
Because the officer didn’t get out of the car, Maupin slowly drove up to the officer and stopped beside him. He said the officer then came out of the car with his gun drawn. When Maupin told the officer he had started recording video, the officer put his gun back in his holster.
In the video, Maupin and his friend can be heard asking, “Where’s your badge?” and “What’s your name?”
The man is seen with a badge and gun on his belt. He told Maupin, “I pulled over here and stopped while I was on the phone with 911, but you pulled over.”
Maupin replied, “No, you turned your lights on.” The man said he wasn’t pulling Maupin over.
Now Maupin wants to know who this man is.
No one at local police departments, the Washington State Patrol or the FBI recognized the man shown in the video.
Sgt. Stan Seo of the King County Sheriff’s Office said he could see there was some kind of badge visible. He said the visor light seen inside the car in the background seems similar to one he has in his unmarked vehicle.
Still, he said the exchange is odd.
“That doesn’t look like a deputy or police officer training. It certainly could be somebody in some other law enforcement capacity,” Seo said.
He said anyone can buy the blue flashing lights. So if a driver ever suspects that he or she is encountering someone pretending to be an officer, the driver should stay in the car, call 911 and try to get a photo of the license plate in question.
Maupin is filing a report with the Washington State Patrol to have the incident investigated.
