There are bad decisions, and then there are decisions so spectacularly bad that they almost seem unbelievable. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, a man may well have learned that lesson the hard way after allegedly trying to conduct a fake traffic stop on an undercover sheriff’s vehicle.
The incident occurred on June 24, when authorities say a black Chevrolet Suburban flipped on red and blue emergency lights while following another vehicle on U.S. Highway 301 North in Thonotosassa, Florida. The Suburban appeared to be attempting to make a traffic stop. However, the driver — identified by police as 46-year-old Nadi Jabari — is not a law enforcement officer, and the vehicle he was attempting to pull over happened to be an undercover sheriff’s vehicle. As you can imagine, this did not end well for Jabari.
Deputies pulled over the Suburban, where inside, police say they found an illegal emergency light setup, an additional two-foot emergency light bar, and a weapon that, in an image released by the sheriff’s office, appears to be a Sig Sauer pistol. Jabari was arrested and charged with false personation, unlawful use of blue light, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Body cam footage shows that there was at least one other individual in the Suburban with Jabari. Police did not mention any other arrests or charges, but noted that the matter remains an ongoing investigation as of June 25.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister didn’t mince words following the arrest, saying in a release that people who impersonate law enforcement put innocent motorists at risk while undermining public trust in legitimate deputies. It’s a reminder that fake police stops are far more than harmless pranks — they’re serious crimes with potentially dangerous consequences.
If you’re ever unsure whether a traffic stop is legitimate, law enforcement recommends slowing down and driving to a well-lit public location while calling 911 to verify that the person attempting to stop you is actually a law enforcement officer. In this case, however, it was the impersonator who unknowingly picked the worst possible vehicle to pull over.
