MOUNT Gambier Police are on the hunt for a white dual-cab utility after receiving several reports of a person impersonating police, by using red and blue emergency lights in the vehicle.
The first incident occurred at around 11.45pm on Tuesday at Suttontown when the vehicle activated red and blue lights when following a truck travelling north on the Riddoch Highway.
The truck driver stopped, but the dual cab made a U-turn and drove off.
Around an hour later, a truck travelling north on Pick Avenue was followed by a white vehicle which had red and blue flashing lights fitted to the front grille.
The truck driver stopped and the vehicle made a U-turn and drove off again.
The final incident occurred at 1.40am when a driver was travelling south along Glenelg River Road and noticed a light-coloured vehicle pull out from a side road.
It activated red and blue lights which were fitted to the dash.
The driver stopped and again the vehicle made a U-turn and drove away.
Mount Gambier Police officer in charge Senior Sergeant Chris King said they see the offence occur from “time to time”.
“One of the stores is selling a toy light and while it is not illegal to possess or own that sort of thing, it is a serious offence to impersonate police,” Snr Sgt King said.
“The reason it is treated seriously is because of the safety issues that arise from it.”
Snr Sgt King said stopping cars on highways can present a whole range of safety problems.
“Police do training on how to do that and it is not always particularly safe to stop a car anywhere,” Snr Sgt King said.
“Some of these incidents happened on open roads.
where vehicles were travelling at high speed.”
He also highlighted the danger the offender could face by stopping someone unlawfully in the road by imitating a police officer.
“You never know how someone is going to react when they see emergency lights,” he said.
“It’s about public safety and a person may put themselves into danger by stopping a car and not knowing who the occupant is.”
If prosecuted for an offence, a penalty of six months imprisonment can be imposed.
“We are treating the matter very seriously and we are appealing for anyone who knows who is responsible for this activity to come forward,” Snr Sgt King said.
