Impostors Can Use Old Police Cars

After a King County (Seattle) sheriff's vehicle is through with its duties as a patrol car, it is transformed into a respectable sedan and driven to a warehouse the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports. But some don't think the cars are stripped thoroughly enough. In the past week, Washington State Patrol troopers have arrested two men, in separate cases, for impersonating police officers. One man was in a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria, with spotlight and push bars, when he tried to get traffic on Interstate 5 to move out of his way. Though most surplus cop cars end up as taxis, sometimes the old patrol car is easily mistaken for the real deal which can lead to dangerous consequences.