RCSO: How to know who is and isn’t a police officer following arrest of North Augusta man

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- A North Augusta man is facing charges after being accused of impersonating a police officer. 

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says 22-year-old Mason Marsh allegedly pulled a woman over last week using blue and red lights mounted on his car. 

The Sheriff’s Office says these incidents do not happen often.

But Marsh is now facing two serious felonies—and we wanted to find out more about the best course of action you can take if you find yourself in a similar situation. 

Investigators say Marsh was arrested for false imprisonment and impersonating a police officer last week.

It’s a situation RCSO Lieutenant James Kelly says is rare, but can greatly damage trust between the public and law enforcement. 

“I know you hear throughout the United States impersonating officers, and it kind of takes trust away from the actual law enforcement officers that are out there doing an outstanding job,” said Kelly.

After pulling the woman over, Marsh allegedly identified himself as a police officer, claiming he pulled her over because she cut him off in traffic.

But when the driver asked him for his badge, that’s when she called the police and found out the truth.

Kelly says it is a good idea to ask for an officer’s I-D if you’re suspicious. 

“If any of our people are pulling anybody over—and hopefully across the United States—they’re identified by either a uniform they have on, they’ll have their badge, and they’ll end up having a vest on with identifiers on it from that agency,” Kelly said.

He says it’s also important to know the Sheriff’s Office uses marked vehicles for most traffic stops, but they have unmarked vehicles ready to respond to more serious situations.

“Normally, a marked patrol vehicle is stopping you for some type of infraction. Speeding, running a stop sign, crossing over the yellow line. But, every blue moon you’ll have an unmarked car that will stop you. It could be a narcotics investigator, could be one of our criminal investigators, but usually it’s in reference to something that they’ve been watching this vehicle—and they know exactly what they’re pulling it over for,” he added.

Having this knowledge could keep you out of harm’s way. 

“9 times out of 10, it’s going to be a legit police officer that’s doing this. Normally, they’ll be in a marked vehicle. If it’s an unmarked vehicle—they’re stopping you for some egregious infraction that you made. If it’s not an infraction, normally our undercover cars are looking for individuals that are particular to a crime, or a certain aspect they’re looking for for a case. You won’t see them making traffic stops too much,” said Kelly.

If you get pulled over by an unmarked car and feel something isn’t right, law enforcement says the best thing to do is turn on your hazard lights, drive to a well-lit, populated area, and call 9-1-1 if you have concerns.