A rideshare driver was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Central Florida while driving with passengers in the back seat.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Uber driver during a traffic stop after he attempted to impersonate a law enforcement officer.
The driver, 49-year-old Orlando resident John Edouard Gerlus, was brought to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and resisting without violence.
According to local law enforcement, a deputy observed Gerlus’ 2016 Honda Crosstour failing to stop at a traffic light, prompting a traffic stop on Lakeland Hills Boulevard (SR 33) near Bridgewater Center Lane in Lakeland.
When the cars stopped, Gerlus swiftly emerged and approached the deputy, who repeatedly begged him to stop and return to his car.
Gerlus then informed the deputy that he was a police officer, displaying a New York Police Department badge and a photograph of himself in a police uniform. Gerlus stated that he currently works for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, according to PCSO.
According to law enforcement, Gerlus unsuccessfully attempted to resist the deputy’s efforts to detain him for the inquiry. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was called, and they denied that Gerlus was an employee. They did mention that Gerlus was going through the hiring procedure.
Gerlus eventually revealed that he was not a law enforcement officer and received the NYPD badge from a friend who works as a dispatcher in New York, according to PCSO.
Gerlus was driving a couple from Massachusetts from the airport to a vacation rental home in Lakeland when the traffic stop occurred.
John Gerlus was brought to jail as another deputy drove the couple to their vacation home, which was about five miles away.
Leave a Reply