Lauren Pineda
Two Florida women who were feeling extra bold, are paying for their actions as they now face charges for impersonating a law enforcement officer. The pair were caught after they stopped a car on Sunday morning, pretending to be Sarasota police officers.
Videos by Rare
At 1:00 a.m., early Sunday morning, Sarasota Police Department responded to a call about a suspicious incident that they initially thought was another SPD officer in distress. Instead, they found 28-year-old Jymieka McDowell and 39-year-old Ryshawnna Poole from Manatee County attempting to stop another vehicle.
Their car had red and blue lights in the windshield and a siren, and the two were mimicking a fake traffic stop. They stupidly were also live-streaming it on Facebook, and in the video, police said you can hear them saying, “Driver, exit the vehicle. Put your fcking hands up, driver. I need everyone to exit the fcking car. Do not make a move. Black lives don’t f*cking matter. Anybody move and I will shoot.”
Two Florida Women Charged for Impersonating Officers at Fake Traffic Stop
Soon, the actual SPD officers made contact with McDowell who was driving, and Poole who was the passenger, and they were arrested and taken to Sarasota County Jail. They are now facing charges for impersonating a law enforcement officer, false imprisonment, and several unrelated charges.
Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino says, “This wasn’t Sarasota police officers pulling over a car. These were people who were pretending to be law enforcement officers and putting fear into innocent victims and residents of our community. If you ever suspect if someone is pulling you over that you feel isn’t a law enforcement officer, call 911 to validate the traffic stop.”
This isn’t the first time these women have done this, and police are now asking for any potential victims to come forward, according to WFLA.
As funny as this seems initially, the reality of it is actually horrible. These women were purposely instilling fear in other peoples’ lives, taking advantage of their abilities to manipulate and abuse the positions they were in. And just as importantly, they have wasted the time and resources of the Sarasota Police Department, who could’ve allocated that to really helping the community.
And nonetheless, what idiots would actually live stream it on a public social platform? These two, apparently.
