Photo: Getty Images
When I was 14-years-old I played a lot of MarioKart 64 and one-on-none basketball in the driveway. I guess that’s too boring for teens in California these days.
A 14-year-old from Victorville, Calif. was arrested this week for impersonating a sheriff’s deputy. Not only was the brazen juvenile pulling people over in his white SUV complete with blueberries and cherries, but he also knocked on a random woman’s door to see if there was a “domestic disturbance.”
Here’s video of the teen knocking on the woman’s door. He’s strapped with a uniform, a police utility belt and a CB radio, but takes off running soon after the woman starts speaking with him.
But don’t worry. Our little teenage Inspector Gadget was soon busted, pulled over by a real cop while his grandmother was in the passenger seat, reportedly unaware of her grandson’s shenanigans.
The next day, a deputy saw a white Ford Explorer and pulled it over. Inside was a boy with his great grandmother in the driver’s seat. The light bar was still mounted in the windshield, said Mara Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Real deputies then searched the boy’s home. Here’s what they found:
Sheriff’s uniform
Ballistics gear
Bullet proof vests
Fake guns, including a fake assault rifle
A stun gun
Piles of counterfeit money
Investigators also confirmed that the teen had “encounters” with other people, including pulling a woman over in her car. In that instance he reportedly pretended to run her information before letting her off with a warning.
When I was a kid I wanted to be Eddie Murphy from Beverly Hills Cop. I get it, man. But holy cow. Get a grip.
On one hand you have to admire this kid’s desire to be a man of the badge. On the other, this is a very, scary situation. Cop impersonators are really out there and have been known to cause real harm. I hope this kid learns a hard lesson and gets an adult in his life whom he can really look up to as a role model.
Bold move: LAPD Volunteer Teen Cadets Steal Squad Cars & Patrol Los Angeles
Josh Helmuth is a contributor for Mandatory who was a starter on his freshman basketball team at 14 years old. Follow him here.
