TOMBALL, Texas – A man accused of impersonating a police officer was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after he tried to pull over an off-duty Tomball police officer.
Police said Bennjair Pina-Torres, 21, was driving his pickup on State Highway 249 when he pulled up behind a woman in an SUV. He had blue and red lights in the grill of the truck. Police said when the woman would not pull over, he pulled up beside the SUV and realized that she was an off-duty officer.
Torres took off and the officer followed him. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office joined in on the chase.
Police said they lost the impersonator for a little while but eventually found him when he pulled up behind a Precinct 5 deputy constable.
Officers said things like this make the public lose trust in law enforcement.
"This happens frequently or ever so often throughout the Harris County area where you have someone who impersonates a police officer and it's a huge trust issue for the community out there," an investigator told KPRC 2. "They rely on us to be who we say we are."
Torres was arrested and is charged with impersonating a peace officer.