A man who investigators say was pretending to be a police officer ended up in handcuffs on June 21 after he tried to intimidate the wrong father and son.

  • John Dawson, 49, charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer
  • Incident occurred in Wesley Chapel
  • Dawson caught on cell phone video claiming to be on a call

The charges stem from an incident investigators said happened on Monday.
 
Johnathan Herold and his 14-year-old son, Justin, said they were leaving dinner and headed down State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel in Herold's white Chevy Corvette when Herold said he spotted what looked like a police car nearby.
 
After getting a better look at the car, however, he ruled it out as police cruiser and hit the gas.

“I had dismissed it in my mind as, 'Oh okay, it’s old, it’s not a cop,” said Herold.
 
He second-guessed himself, however, when the car got behind him.
 
“At the next light he ended up behind us, and I was first at the light so when the light turned green ... I took off quick," said Herold. "As I was doing that, my son was like, 'There’s a cop behind you, Dad,' and I was like, 'Nope, the car’s too old,' and as I was saying that I look in the rear view, I see red and blues."
 
Herold said he then attempted to pull over in a safe area, but the "cop" made a U-turn and went the other way. It raised red flags for both Herold and Justin.
 
“We’re like, 'Oh, crap,' and we look at each other and we’re like, 'That’s not a cop,'" Justin said. "So we pulled over and we started following him, because we didn’t want that kind of stuff on the streets."
 
The "cop" eventually pulled over after about two blocks, according to the father and son. Justin said he started recording on his cell phone and then the fake cop got out of the car.

The impersonator can be heard on the video saying, “You need to [expletive] slow down, okay, number one. I’m on a call, number two, and if you chase me again I’m going to put you in jail. Get your [expletive] car out of here before I run your tag again.”
 
Herold and his son said they took off, stopped at the nearest store and called the real cops to report a fake one.
 
“It was funny, because I didn’t call the 911 line because I was still not 100 percent sure," said Herold. "I hate to call them and they go, 'Hey, he is a real cop, you wait there, we’re gonna give you that ticket.'”
 
When he did speak to police, Herold said he told them the impersonator went all out in terms of appearance, even putting a fishing net up in the car where a cage once was.

“I said if he is an officer someone needs to talk to him," Herold said. "I said if not, this guy has gone all out, because he had the computer the stickers, the badge, everything, and his aggressiveness ... that tells a lot."
 
Deputies say the impersonator, John Dawson, 49, turned himself in once he found out he was recorded. Dawson was later picked out of a photo line up, according to investigators.
 
Deputies later confirmed with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement deputies that Dawson was not an officer of the law. He now faces charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer.

I urge everyone, if they feel uncomfortable with a situation similar to this, to proceed safely to a well lit area and call 911," said Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco. "I cannot stress this safety message enough, and I am thankful this case was resolved with an arrest."