POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A rideshare driver from Orlando was arrested after deputies say he pretended to be a law enforcement officer during a traffic stop.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 49-year-old John Edouard Gerlus was pulled over Thursday afternoon on Lakeland Hills Boulevard in Lakeland after failing to stop at a traffic light.
Deputies said Gerlus got out of his vehicle and approached the deputy, claiming he was a police officer. Investigators say he showed what appeared to be a New York Police Department badge and claimed he worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities later confirmed Gerlus was not employed by the agency, though he had been in the hiring process. Deputies say he eventually admitted the badge came from a friend in New York.
Gerlus was arrested and charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and resisting without violence.
At the time of the stop, a couple visiting from Massachusetts was in the back seat of the vehicle. Deputies arranged for another deputy to take them to their destination.
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