SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police have arrested a teenager they say impersonated a police officer and conducted a phony traffic stop.
Joseph Salazar, 17, is charged with impersonating a public servant, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
On Feb. 1 a witness called police after noticing what appeared to be an unusual traffic stop on the Interstate 10 access road near Huebner Road. When officers arrived the witness, the victim and the alleged police officer who initiated the traffic stop all were gone.
Police later spoke with the witness who gave them the license plate numbers for both cars, an arrest warrant affidavit said. Police tracked down the victim about a week later and spoke with him.
The man told police someone in a black sport utility vehicle with bar lights on top and on the dash pulled him over and then told him he had been speeding, the affidavit said.
The man said the "officer" asked for his license and insurance and then went back to his own car and appeared to be talking on a walkie talkie before returning and telling him he was being let go with a warning.
Investigators used the license plate number to track down the suspect, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said police showed the suspect's photo in a lineup to both the victim and the witness and they both identified him as the phony officer.
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