Georgia mayor pulled over driving a police cruiser, charged with impersonating officer
Sheriff’s department says John Dopson was ‘living out some childhood fantasy’
The mayor of a small town in Georgia has been charged with impersonating an officer after he was pulled over while driving a marked police cruiser, officials said Tuesday.
John Dopson, the mayor of Jacksonville, Ga. (pop: 140), was driving a Jacksonville police cruiser when he was stopped by Telfair County deputies on Monday afternoon.
According to the sheriff’s office, Dopson refused to take state-administered blood and urine tests “because he knew it would show positive for ‘weed.’”
He was subsequently charged with driving under the influence of drugs and booked into the county jail.
Apparently Dopson had been routinely using a police cruiser as his personal Uber for some time.
The sheriff’s office said it had received “numerous complaints related to the daily personal use of a marked and equipped city of Jacksonville patrol car by an individual who possesses no law enforcement authority.”
Investigators said they obtained at least three statements from individuals who witnessed Dopson operating the patrol vehicle with its blue lights activated.
One claimed Dopson followed her in the marked patrol car and “activated its blue lights in order to effect a traffic stop.” Another witnessed “Dopson pursuing a vehicle on U.S. Highway 441 with the blue lights fully activated.” And local law enforcement officers routinely observed Dopson “using a marked and equipped patrol car as his primary means of personal transportation.”
“Although flattered by Dopson’s obvious fascination of real law enforcement officers and the services we provide related to public safety, we cannot allow this type of illegal and very dangerous activity to continue,” the sheriff's department said in a statement posted to its Facebook page. “Our families here in Telfair County, as well as [those] who pass through our community, must have complete confidence in the professionalism and integrity of our local police services. Persons in immediate danger or who are otherwise in distress will commonly seek refuge or police assistance by approaching a marked patrol car. Therefore, private citizens pretending to be law enforcement officers can very quickly find themselves facing a dangerous situation, a situation which they are not adequately trained or equipped to handle.”
NBC News reported that Dopson was appointed mayor late last year “even though he has been awaiting trial since last March on a felony aggravated assault charge,” according to state court records.
The sheriff’s department added: “Citizens should have confidence a marked police cruiser will be operated by a legitimate law enforcement officer and not just someone with access to a police car, living out some childhood fantasy.”
