9:19 p.m. Jan. 20, 2010

Police impersonator arrested after interrupting prostitution sting in Detroit

A man impersonating a Detroit police officer interrupted a prostitution sting being conducted by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office on the city's east side today.

The 51-year-old Detroit man flashed a badge and told an undercover detective to get off the street while she was talking to a potential customer in the area of Vernor and Oakdale about 5 p.m., according to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. After the customer ran away, the man, who was driving a red pickup, began following the detective, shouting that he was an officer.

When the detective replied that she was also an officer, the man sped off, and he was stopped a short distance away.

Despite denying that he was carrying a badge, a search of the man's truck uncovered a loaded .40-caliber gun, a Detroit Police Department badge and clothing with a police department logos, the sheriff's office said.

The man, who faces one count of impersonating an officer and possibly other charges, is in jail in Hamtramck pending arraignment.

“This is a very bizarre situation that could have become deadly,” said Sheriff Benny Napoleon in a statement. “This guy was so bold as to interrupt officers conducting a sting. … Who knows what other crimes he would commit in the future had our team not taken him down?”