Man rigs pickup truck with emergency lights, pulls over Tesla on I-17 in Phoenix, gets arrested

A man flipped on red and blue lights rigged to the dashboard of his pickup truck Thursday morning and pulled over a Tesla on Interstate 17 in north Phoenix.

He wasn’t a cop, and troopers arrested him for impersonating one, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

The incident unfolded around 8:30 a.m. on southbound I-17 near Dove Valley Road in north Phoenix.

The man pulled over a silver Tesla sedan occupied by a male driver and female passenger on the shoulder of the freeway, according to DPS. He was driving a gray Chevrolet 2500 style pickup truck.

He then called authorities himself and waited for troopers to arrive. When they did, they quickly determined he had no badge, no law enforcement authority and no connection to any agency.

The man was arrested at the scene and booked on a charge of impersonating a police officer.

Authorities have not released his name.

The department went public with the arrest out of concern that the man, or someone driving a similarly rigged vehicle, may have pulled over other motorists who never reported it.

Anyone who believes they were stopped by the truck or its driver is urged to call 1-877-4AZ-TIPS or submit a tip online.

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