A Winter Haven man was arrested after allegedly using red-and-blue windshield lights to make another driver pull over in Polk County, according to authorities. Deputies say the setup was less emergency response and more road-rage shortcut: the driver told them he used the lights to get around motorists who brake-checked him.
The arrest happened June 9 in Wahneta, according to a June 10 release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The case resurfaced in an Aug. 3 report by West Orlando News, which identified the suspect as 20-year-old Misael Guerrero-Ramirez of Winter Haven.
A caller told the sheriff's emergency communications center at about 10:27 p.m. that a suspicious Chevy truck had flashed red-and-blue lights, pulled the motorist over, and then left once the vehicle stopped, West Orlando News reported. A deputy later found the truck on Bomber Road and conducted a traffic stop; deputies say the truck had red-and-blue LED lights mounted in its front windshield.
Florida Law Treats Fake Traffic Stops As Felonies
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Guerrero-Ramirez was taken to the Sheriff's Processing Center and charged with impersonation of a law enforcement officer, a third-degree felony. Under Florida Statutes Section 843.08, falsely assuming the identity of an officer and acting as one is generally a third-degree felony; state law also makes using prohibited red, red-and-white, or blue lights to effect or attempt a vehicle stop a third-degree felony under Section 316.2397.
The publicly announced charge is impersonation of a law enforcement officer; the sheriff's release did not list a separate prohibited-lights charge. Guerrero-Ramirez's arrest is an allegation, and any additional charging decisions would come from prosecutors.
Another Fake-Stop Case Hit Central Florida In June
The episode follows two other Central Florida cases involving alleged police-style conduct on the road. Hoodline's report on a fake stop in Thonotosassa said a driver was arrested after allegedly using red-and-blue lights to signal an undercover sheriff's vehicle, while another Polk County case involved an Orlando rideshare driver accused of claiming to be an officer during a Lakeland stop.
In a January case, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said drivers who are unsure about a traffic stop should call 911 to verify it, rather than treating flashing lights as the final word. That advice may be especially useful when the supposed patrol vehicle is a civilian truck with an LED strip in the windshield.
