A Pennsylvania fire chief is accused of using his department vehicle to pull over another driver earlier this month.
Clearfield Fire Chief Justin Worley, 42, was charged Monday with impersonating a public servant, a misdemeanor, WTAJ-TV reports. He also was cited for the unauthorized use of emergency lights, and a hearing is set for April 16.
The incident happened at around 7 p.m. March 1 as Worley was driving the department's 2013 Ford Expedition command vehicle. Another driver told DuBois police that he came up behind Worley, who was driving 15 to 20 mph below the speed limit.
The driver thought his high beams might be on and that was causing Worley slow down. That's when he flashed his headlights to make sure they were off, which caused Worley to briefly activate his emergency lights.
Eventually, the driver passed Worley, but the fire chief began speeding up and the driver needed go as fast as 75 mph to finally get past the department SUV. The driver then went through a yellow light, and that's when Worley turned on his emergency lights again to go through the now-red light.
According to the driver, Worley allegedly began following him before turning on the SUV's emergency lights one more time and pulling him over. The driver said he sat in his vehicle for 15 minutes before finally getting out and approaching Worley, according to WTAJ.
Worley allegedly began shouting at the driver and ordering him to return to his car. The driver and Worley then both called 9-1-1.
Worley told the dispatcher that the other driver was driving "crazy," WTAJ added. He told police that he had followed the driver, but that he had bumped his emergency lights with his elbow, turning them on just before the other driver pulled over.
According to police, Worley said, "I screwed up" multiple times while talking to officers.
