MERAUX, LA – The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office arrested a Meraux man for pretending to be a police officer and conducting a traffic stop on a motorist, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The impersonator, 47-year-old Ronald Zimmer of Meraux, was booked on December 4. He also was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license, switched license plate, and failure to register his vehicle.

On Friday, December 4, shortly before 11 a.m., Sheriff Pohlmann said, deputies with the Field Operations Bureau Patrol Division responded to a call about a suspicious motorist impersonating a police officer near the intersection of East Judge Perez Drive and Bartolo Drive in Meraux.

When deputies arrived on the scene, the suspect vehicle had already fled, but deputies came into contact with the victim who stated a man in a blue four-door sedan with flashing lights attempted to pull him over, forcing him off the road. 

The victim said the suspect exited his vehicle and produced a badge, but it was obvious the man was not a police officer. After the two men exchanged words, the victim said the suspect returned to his vehicle and fled. 

During the course of the investigation, deputies conducted a traffic stop on a blue 2000 Mercury Marquis nearby in Chalmette. Inside the vehicle, driven by Zimmer, deputies found flashing lights and a German Shepherd dog.

Zimmer was not able to produce for deputies any documentation that would give him the authorization to conduct a traffic stop on a motorist. Deputies also learned Zimmer’s driver’s license was suspended and the vehicle’s license plate was registered to a different vehicle owned by Zimmer.

Zimmer was taken into custody and transported to St. Bernard Parish Prison to be booked on the above charges.