If you looked at the vehicle in the image above and thought that it looked like a genuine police car, you wouldn’t be the only one. Fortunately, the man driving that SUV in Stockton was caught by the actual police before he fooled anyone else on the road. However, there was a chance that the driver would have gotten away with it if he wasn’t doing something foolish at the time.
Commenters unsure how the man got the fake police vehicle
A California Highway Patrol officer was assigned to a construction detail at night on July 6 near State Route 99 in Stockton when he spotted what looked to be a strange patrol vehicle from the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Office, according to a Facebook post on the official CHP Stockton page.
The SUV had a light bar, the word “Sheriff” on the door, and a black-and-white scheme that matches what a LASO vehicle would look like. But something was still off. The car had “stopped partially on the shoulder and the roadway,” which is why the officer tried to make contact with the driver.
When the man attempted to drive away, the officer was able to stop it at an off-ramp. Upon closer inspection, the officer determined that the SUV was actually an unauthorized LASO patrol vehicle.
With further investigation, the officer arrested the man, identified as Kevin Michael Silva, for driving under the influence of alcohol and operating an unauthorized law enforcement patrol vehicle.
The press release does not say how or where Silva acquired the fake police car, though that information has likely not been disclosed so that other people don’t get the same idea. Nor does the post say how long the driver had the vehicle in his possession, so it’s unclear how long the man might have gotten away with speeding and other traffic violations.
Commenters on the Facebook post were shocked to see the vehicle that looked convincingly like a real police patrol car. One wrote, “This is probably the most detailed, accurate and convincing clones of a cop car I’ve ever seen someone use…”
Others believe he purchased the patrol vehicle fully equipped or drunkenly stole a sheriff’s vehicle. That said, several users are convinced that the man more likely purchased a retired patrol vehicle from auction and that there are some details on the car that reveal it isn’t actually the real thing.
“That is NOT a real LASD patrol car,” one user said. “Only one car in the fleet has that light bar, they don’t have the mirror beams, and I’m pretty sure they don’t use a Setina PB5 at all … Replica cars are allowed with exceptions, like ‘out of service’ tags and/or the light bar covered, siren tones being disabled, lights/siren controllers being disabled.”
