A Baltimore County man has been arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer after a joint investigation by city and county police departments.
County police a raid Thursday morning at the home of Darrell E. Lyles, 24, of Ferns Way in Nottingham, and found a slew of police-related equipment, including badges, ID cards, bulletproof vests and lights that he had installed in a refurbished police vehicle.
Also among the items seized was a laptop computer that was installed on the center console of the vehicle, similar to police cruisers.
Lyles had asked a city company to install the lights on his vehicle, but employees grew suspicious and contacted city police, said Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department. Detectives are investigating what police work Lyles might have conducted using the equipment.
"Even a police officer would've pulled over if this person pulled behind them," Guglielmi said at a news conference.
Court records show Lyles has faced similar charges before. In November 2008, in Baltimore County Circuit Court, he was sentenced to probation before judgment after being charged with possessing a handgun and impersonating a police officer, records show.
ID cards seized in this week's raid indicated that Lyles worked for a security company called Dwell International. A phone number for the company appeared to be disconnected Thursday.
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