Florida Man Caught Impersonating An Officer In Police Camaro

Jan. 22, 2022 10:38 AM ET by Jarryd Neves Offbeat / 7 Comments

The 42-year-old dealership employee faces serious charges.

An employee at a car dealership in Jacksonville, Florida is facing charges after he was caught impersonating a police officer. 41-year-old Fernando Torres pulled a vehicle over while driving an unmarked police-spec Chevrolet Camaro Coupe that was brought to Torres' workplace for the fitment of emergency lights.

The man was caught when a police officer also pulled over to offer assistance, in what was assumed to be a routine traffic stop, believing the dealer employee was a fellow officer. Quickly, the Camaro took off, triggering the Jacksonville officer's suspicion. The officer was tipped off by a number of things. Firstly, he thought it odd that another officer wouldn't acknowledge his effort to assist.

Action News Jax

Chevrolet

Running the plates of the police-spec Chevrolet, he quickly discovered the vehicle belonged to another police department. He pulled up alongside the yellow Camaro - a custom for police officers - and waved to Torres, who didn't wave back.

After contacting the police department the Camaro was registered to, he soon discovered the muscle car was supposed to be in the custody of a Duval Ford employee at the time, for the aforementioned lighting upgrade.

The Ford dealership has since fired Torres, but that's the least of his worries. Action News Jax reports the wannabe police officer now faces serious charges, including false impersonation of an official and the unlawful use of blue lights.

Chevrolet

Duval Ford was contacted by the news agency for further information, and President Alex Graham noted the car dealership "fully cooperated with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office." Action News Jax contacted Torres, who declined to comment on the matter, but we doubt he'll be getting into any cop cars for some time unless to evaluate the comfort of the rear seat.

Camaros are also used by police in Texas, although in a slightly subtler white. While they're certainly cooler than most of the police cars we see on the road, we're still far behind other countries and their awesome emergency response fleets.