Turlock man accused of impersonating peace officer in Patterson to avoid traffic
A Turlock man allegedly used lights and sirens affixed to his vehicle to impersonate a peace officer and pass a long line of traffic just outside of Patterson on Monday.
His downfall: Actual peace officers were in that line of traffic.
Patterson Police Services traffic Deputy Douglas Adams said he was in an unmarked undercover vehicle in the traffic line that stretched about a mile on eastbound West Main street near Carpenter Road at about 4 p.m. He said another traffic deputy in a marked patrol vehicle was about six vehicles ahead of his.
A Chevrolet Silverado, with red and blue lights flashing in the grill and a siren blaring, pulled out of the line of traffic and into the westbound lane, where it nearly ran several oncoming vehicles off the road, Adams said.
He estimated it was traveling at about 75 mph before the driver saw the marked patrol vehicle. He turned off the lights and sirens, slammed on the brakes and pulled back into the line of traffic, directly in front of Adams, almost hitting his vehicle.
Adams activated his own lights and sirens and the deputy in the marked vehicle turned around to assist him.
Brian Hoar, 34, was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a peace officer and reckless driving.
Deputies got a warrant for his vehicle to remove a siren, train horn and the lights.
“He claimed he put them on there just recently and that was the first time he ever used them,” Adams said. “He admitted that he didn’t want to wait in traffic.”
The lights were permanently affixed to the Chevy’s grill, so deputies seized the entire thing. They also got a warrant from a judge to have the vehicle impounded for 30 days due to the reckless nature in which Hoar is accused of driving.
Patterson Police Services posted a photo on Facebook of deputies posing with the grill.
“Please do not impersonate the police just to get around traffic and if you do, do not permanently attach your fake police lights to your grill,” the post says. “It will catch up with you and we will take your grill as evidence.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 4:43 AM.
