By Kevin Deutsch
The Palm Beach Post
Related: Protecting the public from LE impersonators
BOYTON BEACH — A Palm Beach Gardens firefighter impersonating a police officer took his act to a whole other level Thursday night, driving 100 miles per hour to pull over a speeding vehicle on Interstate 95 and activating an elaborate siren system in his Toyota pickup before a real cop busted him, Boynton Beach police said today.
The faux cop, Terry Scott Petruzzi, 39, gave chase to a speeding Nissan pickup truck before the Boynton Beach police officer pulled both trucks over shortly before 7 p.m., police said.
A look inside Petruzzi’s truck revealed sirens, a police radio scanner and a dashboard-mounted video recording system. He carried a fully loaded 9 millimeter handgun with one bullet in the chamber.
He also carried extra ammunition, handcuffs and a badge that read “Private Investigator,” police said.
The Nissan’s driver, Matthew Paul Loguidice, 24, admitted to speeding and was given a ticket by the real officer.
Petruzzi declined to comment when reached by phone this morning.
He was earlier booked into Palm Beach County Jail on a charge of impersonating an officer.
Copyright 2008 The Palm Beach Post