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A Utah Highway Patrol trooper and a police officer both were busy working the same section of I-15 Sunday night. But as it turned out, only one of the men was a real law enforcement officer.
It was the sharp-eyed trooper who noticed something wasn't right with a pickup truck pulled over near another vehicle on I-15 Sunday night. Then he noticed something odd.
From the trooper's dashcam video you can hear him say, "I'm at this traffic stop, and he's got red and yellow lights in his truck.
Trooper Cameron Roden, spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, says, "Cars can't have red lights to the front like a police officer, so he initiated the traffic stop and made contact with the driver."
That driver, 20-year-old Cooper Deters, was dressed in police-type clothing and combat boots. As troopers searched his truck, they found more evidence, things normal drivers wouldn't carry: a notepad filled with license plate and police dispatch numbers, flex-cuffs and guns.
"He's got a loaded up AK 47 ready to rock and roll in there, an emergency service jacket that you'd throw on to make you look like you're someone official," a trooper says on the video.
Deters was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer, as well as making a non-emergency stop on the freeway.
Right now, investigators say there's no indication he had anything malicious planned.
"He stated that he knew we were busy and he was going to come out and help and volunteer where he could," Roden said.
Investigators don't know if Deters actually pulled anyone over. Deters told them he'd stopped to help the driver of the vehicle he was originally pulled over next to.
UHP troopers haven't been able to talk to that driver. They ask if you have any information, give them a call at (801) 887-3800.
They also want the public to know that if something ever feels off during a traffic stop, you can always call dispatch. Here along the Wasatch Front, it's as simple as dialing *11 on your cell phone.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
