Fake Cop Pulls Over Undercover Hillsborough County Deputy
A man’s attempt to impersonate a police officer backfired spectacularly when the driver he tried to pull over turned out to be a real undercover sheriff’s deputy.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says an undercover deputy was targeted in an attempted traffic stop on U.S. Highway 301 North by a driver in a Chevrolet Suburban using illegal emergency lights. The encounter happened Wednesday, June 24, in Thonotosassa, a community northeast of Tampa.
According to investigators, a black Chevrolet Suburban activated red and blue emergency lights while following one of the sheriff’s office’s undercover vehicles on the highway, appearing to initiate a traffic stop. But the undercover deputy wasn’t fooled. Deputies quickly intervened and conducted a traffic stop on the Suburban instead, turning the would-be impersonator into the one getting pulled over.
The real stop was captured on body camera footage. In the video, deputies approach the vehicle and ask the man in the driver’s seat, “What are you doing today?”
A search of the vehicle turned up more than just the fake light setup already in use. Detectives found the active emergency light setup, an extra 2-foot emergency light bar, and a handgun inside the Suburban, Fox 13 News reported.
As of this week, officials had not confirmed whether Jabari had pulled over other drivers using this vehicle setup, and it remained unclear where he obtained the emergency light equipment or what his motive was. The case remains under investigation.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister condemned the impersonation, saying it undermines public trust in law enforcement.
Notably, this isn’t the first time Hillsborough County has dealt with a fake-officer incident involving one of its own. In 2019, a man named Barry Lee Hastings Jr. was arrested after attempting to pull over an off-duty Lee County Sheriff’s deputy on I-4 using a black Crown Victoria outfitted with white and amber lights, a functional siren, and a CB radio.
