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​Man Reportedly Pretending To Be Cop Arrested After Pulling Over Police Officers

​Man Reportedly Pretending To Be Cop Arrested After Pulling Over Police Officers

As officers identified themselves, the 25-year-old fled and was arrested soon after

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Police in the New York City suburbs have arrested a guy allegedly pretending to be a cop - who was caught after he tried to pull over actual, real-life police officers in an unmarked vehicle.

Yep, that has to be some of the worst luck out there.

According to Nassau County police, Valiery Portlock had sounded a horn and flashed emergency lights as he attempted to pull over a van in Hicksville, Long Island, on Friday morning at 11am ET.

However, it turned out it wasn't just any old van, but an unmarked police vehicle carrying two detectives from the department's electronics squad. Doh.

Police say the officers identified themselves and approached Portlock's vehicle, but as they did so the 25-year-old fled, swerving his Nissan Sentra into oncoming traffic and speeding off towards the Long Island Expressway.

Valiery Portlock.
Nassau County Police Department

Highway patrol officers managed to catch up with Portlock, eventually pulling him over and arresting him without incident.

According to ABC7, on Saturday Portlock was in custody pending arraignment on charges including criminal impersonation and reckless endangerment. Court records do not list a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.

Remarkably, this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Just a few months ago, a man in Florida was arrested following a similar incident.

According to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, 26-year-old Matthew Joseph Erris had decided to 'play cop' by turning on some red and blue lights to pull someone over.

But in the same twist of fate, the car he decided to try and pull over actually had an undercover detective inside.

When they then pulled Erris over - for real, this time - a pistol was found under the car's passenger seat.

"Deputies did a REAL traffic stop on Erris," a Facebook post from HCSO said.

"Erris is now facing a charge for impersonating a law enforcement officer."

Social media users had little sympathy for Erris, with one Facebook user commenting: "How stupid and unlucky do you have to be?"

Someone else wrote: "Sometimes the stupid ones catch themselves."

The moral of the story? It's probably not a great idea to go around pretending to be a police officer. Unless you're a real life detective, maybe just stick to watching Bad Boys or Beverly Hills Cop to live out your fantasy life in law enforcement.

Featured Image Credit: Nassau County Police Department

Topics: Police, News, US News