Man impersonating police accidentally pulls over mufti cop car

A man driving a car equipped with flashing police lights pulled over the wrong vehicle in south Auckland on Saturday night.

Two officers driving an unmarked police car were puzzled, when a stationwagon following them turned on a set of red-and-blue lights, indicating they should pull over.

"Our officers were perplexed and quickly clocked the car was not police-official," Inspector Kerry Watson said.

When the legitimate officers stopped their vehicle, the man in the stationwagon quickly realised he was facing the real McCoy and unsuccessfully tried to make a run for it.

"It's bad enough that this person thought it was OK to impersonate a police car," Watson said. "It's even worse to see impaired and dangerous driving."

The 38-year-old is due to appear in court on Christmas Eve, charged with impersonating a police officer and excess breath alcohol.

Impersonating police or representing a vehicle as a police vehicle is an offence under the Policing Act 2008.

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