Tampa Tribune
TAMPA — Tampa police late Sunday arrested a Manatee County man, accusing him of using red and blue flashing lights in his Chevrolet Tahoe to stop a Tampa police officer to alert the officer of a reckless driver in Ybor City.
Charged with impersonating a police officer, unlawful use of blue lights and carrying a concealed firearm was Jonathan Charles Stevens, 24, 8004 Woodlawn Circle, Palmetto.
Police said Stevens was in his 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, which was equipped with red and blue lights, and tried to pull over a Tampa police officer around 10:30 p.m. Sunday near the corner of Seventh Avenue and 17th Street in Ybor City.
He told the officer he wanted to report a reckless driver and said he was a Homeland Security officer. Stevens said he had a Glock .45-caliber handgun and he wore a badge round his neck.
Just before turning on his lights, he called police dispatch to report the same reckless driver, police said.
The officer found that the vehicle was not a police or emergency vehicle and did not belong to a government agency. Stevens later admitted he was not a law enforcement officer, police said, and he does not have a concealed weapons permit.
Stevens was released this morning after posting $17,500 bail.
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