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Two men charged with impersonating police officers
Reynolds2c Michael 18 yrs
Michael Reynolds

Two men were arrested in Turlock on Thursday night on allegations they were impersonating police officers.

Saul Rodriguez, 20, and Michael Reynolds, 18, were both arrested on suspicion of impersonating police officers, which is a misdemeanor offense, said Turlock Police spokesperson Officer Steve Rodrigues. Reynolds also was charged with possession of metal knuckles, which is a felony.

The incident first came to the attention of the Turlock Police Department when they received a 911 call from a woman in her mid 20s saying someone was attempting to pull over her vehicle and that it didn’t appear to be a patrol vehicle.

The woman described the vehicle as a red Toyota Prius with a red and blue light in the dash.

The woman said she was in the area of Countryside Drive and Monte Vista Avenue. Officers checked the area but could not locate the suspect vehicle.

About two hours later an officer on patrol in the area of Soderquist Road and Canal Drive spotted a vehicle matching the description provided and pulled it over.

Both suspects were taken into custody without incident. The metal knuckles were found during a subsequent search of the vehicle.

The police department has not received any similar reports about fake officers, but the Ceres Police Department is investigating a case.

The Ceres Police Department told the Ceres Courier they were looking for a man that tried to pull over a 29-year-old woman around 11 p.m. Sept. 15. The woman told the police department that a charcoal gray Chevy sedan with tinted windows was behind her and activated red and blue lights on the dash in an apparent attempt to pull her over on Morgan Road at Whitmore Avenue. She was skeptical that it was a real police car because she did not hear a siren and the lights were not flashing lights. The woman got scared and called police and was instructed to drive toward the Ceres Police Station. By the time officers found her the Chevy sedan had disappeared.

Anyone with information about possible similar cases is asked to contact the Turlock Police Department at 668-5550 or the tip line at 668-5550 extension 6780 or email at tpdtipline@turlock.ca.us.

Jeff Benziger contributed to this report.