TAMPA, Fla. — A man from Tampa was arrested after troopers say he impersonated a law enforcement officer Sunday morning on Interstate 75.
Earl Cesario, 62, was charged with impersonating a police officer.
At around 10:52 a.m., authorities received a report of a red GMC pickup truck that was using flashing red and blue lights to try and pull other cars over, according to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
The reported pickup truck was heading northbound on I-75 in Hernando and Sumter counties, troopers said.
A trooper saw the pickup truck pass by him. He caught up with the truck to confirm it was the vehicle involved in the reports of impersonating an officer, the arrest report states.
A traffic stop was conducted on the interstate and Cesario told the trooper he had red and blue lights on his dashboard but he never activated them, FHP said.
However, a witness who was at the scene told the trooper that Cesario passed his car from the back and Cesario started to flash his red and blue lights. The witness went on to say he changed lanes from the inside lane to the center lane because he believed Cesario was in an undercover law enforcement vehicle, authorities said.
Officials say the witness claims Cesario's truck pulled up alongside him and Cesario "aggressively motioned" for him to pull over by pointing his finger.
As the witness moved lanes to head to the shoulder of the interstate, Cesario reportedly sped off.
The witness then followed the 62-year-old and updated officials on his location until the trooper found the pickup truck.
"[The trooper] conducted a probable cause search of the [pickup truck] and located a rotating red and rotating blue light encased in plastic," the arrest report states. "The lights automatically became operable when plugged into the two cigarette lighters located in front of the center console."
Photos of truck used by Tampa man accused of impersonating police officer
Authorities say the cigarette lighters were opened during the traffic stop, indicating that Cesario did use the lights.
A gun was also found in the 62-year-old's car, troopers said.
Cesario was taken to the Sumter County jail.