QUESTION: I’ve been seeing a lot of vehicles marked ‘Police’ with flashing light bars, etc. especially in work zones. When you get close enough, they often turn out to be a ’90s Ford sedan or other retired cop car. Recently in Dallas, I followed a late model Explorer that was marked ‘Police,’ ‘In God We Trust’ and light bars, but no exempt plates, no city designation and the guy driving looked more like a hippy from the ’60s than a cop. So what’s the deal? When is it impersonating a police officer?
ANSWER: Here’s what state law says counts as “false identification as a peace officer” and “misrepresentation of property”: if a person makes or provides to someone else “a card, document, badge, insignia, shoulder emblem, or other item, including a vehicle, bearing an insignia of a law enforcement agency that identifies a person as a peace officer or a reserve law enforcement officer; and that person the items were provided to is not a commissioned peace officer or reserve officer. (Exceptions include if the person is an “honorary or junior” officer, or if the person was a law enforcement officer when the item was made.
“A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly misrepresents an object, including a vehicle, as property belonging to a law enforcement agency.”
If you see someone you think is violating those rules, I would suggest using a non-emergency phone number to report the issue to law enforcement.
I wanted to note, though, that in Texas it’s actually illegal to leave emergency and law enforcement markings and equipment on vehicles that are being retired from service and sold to the general public. (There are some exceptions, of course). State law says:
“The owner of an authorized emergency vehicle that is used to transport sick or injured persons commits an offense if the owner transfers ownership of the vehicle without: removing from the vehicle any vehicle equipment, including a light, siren, or device … and removing or obliterating any emblem or marking on the vehicle that identifies the vehicle as an authorized emergency vehicle.”
State law also says: “A person may not sell or transfer a marked patrol car or other law enforcement motor vehicle to the public unless the person first removes any equipment or insignia that could mislead a reasonable person to believe that the vehicle is a law enforcement motor vehicle, including any police light, siren, amber warning light, spotlight, grill light, antenna, emblem, outline of an emblem, or emergency vehicle equipment. …”
I’ll use the city of Longview as an example. City spokesman Richard Yeakley told me all city-owned vehicles are handled in the same way when they’re retired: “All lights, markings, and any emergency response equipment are removed prior to putting them in a public auction for sale.”
For more information, visit longviewtexas.gov/2271/Sale-of-City-Property .