Why some people impersonate police officers and pull people over is something I will never fully understand. I mean, some do it as a way to get people to drop their guard prior other crimes, but some people do it just for fun, apparently. Why people who want to pull folks over don’t become police officers is beyond me.

I don’t know which one man in Kentucky is, but he pulled over the wrong car recently.

A man police say was pretending to be a cop pulled over an off-duty LMPD officer in Louisville.

The real officer said he was driving with his wife when a man in a car going the other way started flashing his lights, and had something on his dash flashing, too.

This happened Saturday, Oct. 28 on Hurstbourne Parkway near Lagrange Road in Lyndon, according to an arrest warrant.

Once the cars passed each other, the real officer says the other man did a U-turn and started following him, lights still flashing. Then the driver began honking his horn.

Thinking the man needed help, the LMPD officer said he decided to pull over.

The suspect was later identified by the officer as Brandon Hurley. You see, the officer knew Hurley. They went to high school together.

Rather than reminiscing about school days, the officer quizzed Hurley about what department he worked for. Hurley reportedly seemed confused about the idea of a police officer in a non-police car–because apparently police never do anything that’s not 100 percent police related, like they’re not allowed to have lives outside of wearing a badge–and made up some crap about not writing the officer a ticket.

He then is alleged to have hopped into his car and hauled butt after the Louisville officer asked for Hurley’s badge number…going against the flow of traffic, because police do that all the time just because they can.

Hurley was served a warrant on Halloween, though there’s no mention of whether he was dressed as a police officer at the time. I can’t help but think he was, though.

There’s also no mention of just why Hurley was pretending to be a police officer and pulling over random people on the highway. In this case, the suspect pulled over a police officer, but it could have been any number of other folks. Further, a lot of people worry about doing the right thing. They don’t want to make a simple traffic violation into something more.

That’s probably what happened in Cleveland back in 2013 when a woman was pulled over by what she thought was an unmarked police car. Rather than a traffic ticket, she found herself subject to a sexual assault.

At the time, one Cleveland police officer provided some advice to those who were being pulled over by an unmarked car.

If the area where you stop looks desolate, Miller said you don’t have to stop there. In fact, he said, “Proceed to that well lit area or a public building, the fire department, hospital.” These are public places, he went on to say, where many people can see what’s going on.

…

But the best way to stay safe, according to the Sergeant, is to remember you’re never alone. Miller told NewsChannel 5 before you even stop, if you don’t feel safe, “Use your cell phone to dial 9-1-1 and talk to the dispatcher, let her know what’s going on, give your location and have her guide you as to what she wants you to do.”

“We want to build a trust within the community and we don’t want impersonators out there trying to destroy that trust,” said Miller.

That’s solid advice. The 9-1-1 operator should be able to communicate with all officers in the first place and can advise you to keep safe.