Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
An Arkansas volunteer firefighter has been charged with impersonating a police officer after he allegedly used emergency warning lights on his personal vehicle to pull a vehicle over.
Michael Lindsey, 20, was arrested Saturday evening after a complainant reported Lindsey “flew up behind them and turned on his blue lights that were on top of his car as if he was trying to pull them over.” Lindsey was with the Northside Fire Department.
When initially questioned by Independence County sheriff’s deputies, Lindsey claimed the lights in his vehicle’s light bar were red. When the deputy discovered the lights had a setting that allowed them to flash blue, he was arrested and charged with criminal impersonation.
Independence County Sheriff Shawn Stephens, who is also the Fire Chief of the Northside Fire Department, issued a press release stating Lindsey has been removed from the department and all NFD equipment seized.
