When John Winner noticed a car on the interstate had its taillights off, he turned on his police siren and motioned for the driver to pull over.
But he’s not an officer.
Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the 56-year-old Alabama man Thursday night on charges of impersonating a police officer, according to an arrest report.
At about 9:45 p.m., two reports came in about a white Ford Crown Victoria with a siren and strobe light driving north on State Road 93.
First, Winner activated his siren and strobe lights, motioning for the driver to pull over, a witness told police. The witness said he had to go around him after Winner got in front of his car and made him slow his speed to 5 mph.
During questioning, Winner said he was trying to signal to the witness he didn’t have his tail lights on, according to the report. Police found a police radio and a center console for emergency lights inside Winner’s car.
Winner was released from jail after meeting a $5,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 3/31/2014 under the headline "Winner pretends he’s police"]
