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Windham County resident David Wright of Ashford, age 58, was arrested on Thursday, June 15 after allegedly impersonating a police officer in Mansfield, according to state police.
Wright's arrest stemmed from an incident that happened on Wednesday, June 14 around 5 or 6 p.m., when both a woman and a man were driving around Mansfield in a Volkswagon Jetta before coming to a stop at a stop sign to look up directions, according to Wright's arrest warrant.
While the duo was stopped, Wright's light blue Mercury Mountaineer pulled up at a stop sign to the right of the Jetta. When the Jetta's driver then waved Wright on to let him know he could proceed first, Wright allegedly pulled up close to the vehicle and called the driver a "douchebag," according to the warrant.
At this point, the Jetta then turned around and followed Wright's vehicle, which pulled over on the side of the road. After the Jetta pulled alongside Wright's car, Wright allegedly brandished a badge and claimed he was a police officer, also allegedly threatening to arrest and tase the two victims.
Once the victims told him that they respect police officers, though, Wright appeared to calm down and even offered to have the duo over to his house to share beers. He then proceeded to give the duo his name and phone number, which the victims then gave to police around 8 p.m. that night, when they reported the incident.
Troopers then matched the phone number to Wright and traveled to his Ashford residence on Thursday, where Wright told an investigating trooper that he had told the victims that he was a correctional officer with the Connecticut Department of Corrections and not a police officer. He also told the trooper that he had flashed his Department of Corrections badge at the victims.
Wright also claimed that he had thought the victims were drunk during the encounter, according to his arrest warrant.
However, the investigating trooper said that he had not noticed the victims to be displaying any signs of intoxication and that Wright had not reported such a belief to officers after the incident.
After Wright declined to provide a sworn written statement regarding the facts that took place during the encounter, the investigating trooper then applied for the arrest warrant.
After he was taken into custody, Wright was charged with:
- Impersonation of a police officer;
- Second-degree breach of peace;
- Second-degree threatening.
He was then issued a $5,000 non-surety bond and was scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Tuesday, June 27.
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