VCSO: Deltona Man Pretended To Be Real Cop

Deltona, FL - A 64-year-old Deltona man sees the inside of a Volusia County Jail cell for trying to pull over a real law enforcement officer while pretending to be one.

Thomas W. Farmer was warned at least twice before in separate incidents to stop impersonating law enforcement, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

VCSO spokesperson Laura Williams says Farmer wasn't arrested in those cases but was this time after he pulled his act on a real VCSO detective two days earlier in the Pierson area.

"An off-duty sergeant encountered a truck that got his attention, especially when he passed the vehicle and its driver activated flashing red emergency lights and spoke over a public address system as if he was a law enforcement officer," Williams added.

According to the VCSO report, the sergeant became suspicious of Farmer after noticing that the red Chevrolet truck had a specialty license place with a white light bar across the grill.

Other devices normally found in law enforcement vehicles - including radar and red and yellow lights - were found in Farmer's truck after the sergeant pulled him over, per Williams.

"At one point, the driver flashed a white light bar as if trying to conduct a traffic stop," Williams noted. "During the traffic stop, Farmer again activated a light bar on his truck, which flashed yellow lights."

Farmer admitted he wasn't an officer when questioned, per the report, and he was let go at the scene with a warning. But VCSO decided to go to Farmer's home on Tuesday and arrest him after the detective who ran into Farmer learned about the earlier incidents, per Williams.

"Farmer was attempting to pretend to be a police officer and influence traffic," Williams noted. "Both times, Farmer was warned to stop the behavior."

Farmer is now held on $2,500 bond at VCJ following his arrest today (March 19th).