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Fake CHP Chevy Camaro Driver Arrested For Impersonating Police Officer

An individual from Richmond, California recently got a first-hand taste of how law enforcement works after he was arrested for “impersonating a police officer” while driving a fourth-generation Chevy Camaro modified to look like a California Highway Patrol vehicle.

According to the San Rafael Police Department (SRPD), officers arrested the Chevy Camaro driver on January 15th, 2025 after observing the modified fourth-gen driving on public roads.

A Chevy Camaro is pulled over for impersonating law enforcement.

The incident occurred around 10:40 AM local time near Bellam Boulevard and Interstate 580 in San Rafael, an area situated north of San Francisco. According to SRPD, the patrolling officers initially mistook the Camaro for “an older model California Highway Patrol Chevrolet Camaro police car that had been used by the agency nearly a decade ago.” However, the officers became suspicious after noticing that the Camaro driver was not in uniform, and upon closer inspection, officers identified several other irregularities, such as missing official plates and law enforcement registration.

Looking over images of the vehicle in question, we see a fourth-generation Chevy Camaro with official-looking Highway Patrol decals on the doors. The body panels of the vehicle are white, while the five-spoke wheels are polished. Four round exhaust tips are seen in the rear, and there’s a small dent in the rear quarter panel.

After conducting a traffic stop, the driver reportedly admitted to applying CHP-style decals on the Camaro, claiming it was intended for a car show. However, SRPD states that the vehicle was recently released from impound, and was thus unlikely to be used for a car show . SRPD also states that the department is investigating whether or not the vehicle was used in any false impersonation cases in the area.

The driver was subsequently arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer. Meanwhile, the Chevy Camaro has been impounded again as SRPD works with CHP to assess if the driver may have impersonated a police officer beyond this particular incident.

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. At worst this should have just been a fix it ticket. It was an ancient beater that looks nothing like a police car with a sticker on the door for heavens sake. Now they’ve got some dude who is probably neither wealthy nor a genius and just made his life extra miserable by burdening him with fines and court dates, impounding his car, jacking his insurance rates (assuming he has any) and plastering his name all over the internet so this will follow him for life. This is the kind of overzealous petty nonsense that gives cops a bad name. Aren’t there any actual crimes being committed in California or is this all they have to keep themselves busy?

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  2. If you can’t do the time, then don’t do the crime. No sympathy from me.

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  3. Only thing I can think is very ignorant

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  4. Man people are sticklers. Its not like he had lights and sirens and was driving erratically. Its literally a 30 year old camaro with a door sticker. And for the cop who “thought it was an older model patrol car” what year is it? I bet the last 4th gen used for that was like 2005. The reaction should have been “oh cool, someone is still driving an old highway car for show” not “IMPOSTER!!”

    I say either we don’t know the whole story, or these cops are just plain pricks.

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  5. This is what separates the cops today from any touch with reality. Give me a break. It’s an old Camaro with dents. Tell the guy to pull the stickers off the car. Now it’s a big f deal.
    Probably can’t find anything constructive to do. Like find drug dealers coming over the border and catching shoplifters that apparently run rampant anymore.

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  6. At most of the larger car shows I attend, there are at least one fake Police cars of the past. Admittedly, most are older than this Camaro. The favorites are early 60s Fords from Mayberry. But this Camaro looks nothing like present day Police cars. I am surprised they just didn’t pull him over to look at the car and then let him go. Of course this all changes if the car was used as an official Police car for unauthorized purposes.

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