Washington State Patrol investigators want to hear from anyone who thinks they have crossed paths with a police impersonator in the Skagit Valley, including a driver spotted behind the wheel of a Ford Crown Victoria fitted with push bars. The vehicle, which resembles older police cruisers, is at the center of the latest reported encounter on a Skagit County highway.
According to KIRO 7 News, the state patrol said it is actively seeking information about the driver of the Crown Victoria, and the agency wants to speak with anyone who believes they interacted with someone pretending to be a police officer in the Skagit Valley. The patrol issued its statement Tuesday, according to the outlet. The case is far from isolated: WSP Trooper Kelsey Harding told The Bellingham Herald that there have been eight reports this year of possible police impersonators in Skagit County.
A Pattern of Flashing Lights and Pulled-Over Drivers
The reports describe more than one method of intimidation. Some involved vehicles rigged with blue-and-red lights mounted in the front grille, while others involved a driver simply flashing their headlights to try to get another motorist to pull over, the newspaper's report notes. Harding cautioned that not every sighting necessarily involves a true impersonator — some patrol vehicles are unmarked, and it's possible a driver mistook a legitimate unmarked unit for someone falsely posing as law enforcement, per the same account.
That ambiguity is part of what makes the pattern hard to pin down. The dossier of reports gathered so far does not specify whether the eight incidents trace back to one person, several people, or how many, if any, amount to confirmed impersonation cases. What is clear is that the Crown Victoria with push bars has drawn renewed attention from investigators looking into a highway encounter in the county, as reported by Lynnwood Times.
How to Report a Suspected Impersonator
Washington State Patrol is asking anyone who witnesses or is contacted by a suspected police impersonator on a highway in Skagit County to reach out directly to Trooper Ryan Thomas by email at [email protected]. Investigators are hoping tips from drivers who had a close encounter, even one that seemed minor at the time, could help them build out a fuller picture of what has been happening on local roads.
Under Washington law, impersonating a peace officer is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to The Bellingham Herald's reporting. The penalty underscores why WSP treats these reports seriously even when the vehicle in question might ultimately turn out to be an unmarked patrol car rather than an impersonator.
Not the First Case of Its Kind in Washington
Skagit County isn't the only part of the state where this kind of scare has popped up recently. In May 2025, the Washington State Patrol said it received a report that a male driver of an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria attempted to make a traffic stop on the Chumstick Highway near Leavenworth using red and blue lights. And last September, a Bremerton case made headlines when KING 5 aired body camera footage showing a man identified as Michael Scaletta Teates posing as an officer before he was detained and faced charges of impersonation and firearm possession.
For now, investigators are relying on the public to help fill in the gaps, hoping that anyone who felt uneasy pulling over for flashing lights or an unfamiliar grille-mounted light bar will come forward with what they saw.
