POLICE were concerned a man from the NSW town of Bargo may have been impersonating a police officer with special lights fitted to his Ford Falcon XR6 car, a court heard yesterday.
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Jack Everitt Fullerton was sleeping in his car near the entrance to the Albury Airport about 4.10am on April 3 when general duties police checked on him.
They told Fullerton it was unsafe to sleep there and suggested a nearby 24-hour truck stop instead.
He drove off, but police did a registration check and found numerous entries on police intelligence suggesting the car may be fitted with flashing lights.
Other information said the vehicle may be used to impersonate police with other road users being pulled over.
Police stopped Fullerton on the Hume freeway in Albury about 30 minutes later.
He admitted the car was fitted with flashing fog and rear tail reverse lights.
The officers got Fullerton to activate the lights and filmed the vehicle with them working.
The lights were blue in colour and the headlights and indicators also flashed.
Officers believed there was no doubt the public could easily assume Fullerton’s car was an unmarked police veh- icle.
NSW police have used Ford Falcon XR6 turbo cars for some time as both marked and unmarked cars in their highway patrol fleet.
When checking the car, police noticed a number of unroadworthy items and put a defect notice on Fullerton’s car.
They also found he had two NSW driver’s licences with one in the name of Rodriguez Bohemanu.
It was found in the glove box and a check with Roads and Maritime Services showed the licence does not exist.
Fullerton, 24, pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court yesterday to charges of driving a car with an unlawful police insignia and unlawfully possessing an item which resembles an Australian driver’s licence.
He told magistrate Tony Murray the fake licence was obtained as a joke in Thailand two years ago when holidaying.
“I had no intention of using it,” he said.
Mr Murray said when imposing fines totalling $900 that it was an unusual matter.
He said understandably officers were worried because Fullerton’s vehicle may have been considered an unmarked police car.