Residents in Maple Ridge witnessed one of the most unintentionally hilarious traffic stops of the year on Thursday, when a local man attempted to pull over a police car using a fake siren kit and a magnetic dashboard light he bought online.
According to police, 31-year-old Cody Renshaw was driving behind a patrol vehicle when he activated a small red-and-blue flashing light inside his windshield and began honking, motioning for the officers to “move to the shoulder immediately.”
Witnesses say Cody looked “weirdly confident,” waving his arm out of the window like he was directing traffic in a movie he wasn’t actually in.
The officers, confused, slowed down and watched Cody’s car in the rearview mirror. When he continued signaling for them to pull over, the officers exchanged a look and — instead of stopping — simply activated their actual lights and sirens.
Cody reportedly froze.
“He didn’t speed up, didn’t slow down, just held the wheel like he was buffering,” said one driver who saw the incident unfold.
Police pulled him over moments later.
When asked why he tried to stop a patrol unit, Cody allegedly said he thought the officers were “driving a little too fast” and that as a “concerned citizen,” he wanted to “exercise authority.”
The officers informed him that:
A) That’s not a thing anyone can do, and
B) Impersonating law enforcement is extremely illegal.
Cody was detained without incident. The fake dash-light, cheap plastic badge, and $19.99 siren speaker were confiscated.
A police spokesperson later commented:
“If you try to pull over the police, you will not win. Ever.”
Cody now faces charges for impersonating an officer and misusing emergency lighting.
