Someone impersonating a Garda

GTE

Hi all,

I had an odd one today.

The two lane N3 dual carriageway after M50 Blanchardstown, heading in to Dublin is where this happened. I was in Lane 2 and merged into Lane 1. I was well ahead of a silver 520d who took issue with me merging despite me being well before the arrows and lane closure and well ahead of his car.

He blocked me from moving for around 50 metres in slow traffic, so much so he nearly hit the side of the car; I was forced back into the closing Lane 2. I eventually got into the lane and he pulled up beside me in the bus lane and waved a what seemed like a Garda badge at me out of his window.

My partner alerted me to this, so out of shock I pulled over. There were no lights, no siren, just a car horn.

The driver got out and started shouting into my window and then moved off. He did not ask for any ID, insurance or anything like that. I don't think he brought his badge with him.

I felt this was so odd that I called the local Garda station and they said it sounded very fishy but it was not unheard of. The Garda on the phone said that if it was in fact a Garda, they were very much in the wrong and need a complaint taken out against them. He said in all likelihood, it is probably someone trying to impersonate a traffic cop.

The car in question was a 2011 520d M Sport. This seemed like an odd undercover car, there is nothing special about it to be different to the normal unmarked units.

The Garda asked me whether I would like to make a case about it at a station. He assured me that the registration is going to go through the system and if it is not in fact an unmarked Garda car, something will happen as a result.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

Thanks!

Atlantic Dawn

Put the reg through motortax.ie and see if it gives a tax rate for it, if it doesn't it's Garda owned.

Ask them for the Pulse number for the complaint, why wouldn't he be able to on the spot know if the car was a legitimate Garda car or not?

Duke O Smiley

I'd put a weeks wages on it most definitely not being an actual Garda car.

Could belong to some clown of a guard who was in his personal car.

I doubt very much would come from you pursuing it to be honest.

Atlantic Dawn

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

I doubt very much would come from you pursuing it to be honest.

Rather shocking though if you make a report to Gardai about someone impersonating them and they do sweet fook all about it, particularly where you have supplied them with the registration plate, make/model and didn't say to them such incredible detail as it was 'a blue car'.

antodeco

I'd be 99% it was a Garda in his personal car on the way or from work. Some of them are exceptionally bad drivers ..

Cee-Jay-Cee

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Rather shocking though if you make a report to Gardai about someone impersonating them and they do sweet fook all about it, particularly where you have supplied them with the registration plate, make/model and didn't say to them such incredible detail as it was 'a blue car'.

He showed his Garda ID so that would suggest he’s a garda and was driving his own personal car. Do you run off to your local garda station every time a garda in plain clothes showed his/her badge to report someone impersonating a Garda???There appears to be a whole lot of over reaction and drama in this thread.

It was a guard in his own car who was pissed off for what ever reason. He pulled out his badge, rightly or wrongly and the OP pulled over even though he wasn’t obliged to.

Make a complaint and get over it. There’s nothing suspicious or overly shocking about anything in the story.

Some people just love to build a good story around a rather dull one.

thenightman

Off duty Garda I'd say. My brother is one and drives in bus lanes in his own car, and flashes his Garda badge/wallet thing if anyone gives him grief. Same when he uses public transport or going into busy pubs with queues. They can get very entitled.

Glass fused light

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

I doubt very much would come from you pursuing it to be honest.

Rather shocking though if you make a report to Gardai about someone impersonating them and they do sweet fook all about it, particularly where you have supplied them with the registration plate, make/model and didn't say to them such incredible detail as it was 'a blue car'.

The OP was asked to make a statement, as evidence.
No statement = no actionable crime.

As there have been a number of car jackings using this MO, I would say this should be take seriously.



Its a H&S risk if people do this with me. I had a incident years ago when i first started driving, where someone in a guard uniform and similar hat standing in the middle of the road, stopped me and tried to open the door. Twigged the lack of brass and rolled off. So now i have the attitude that i wont win any physical fight. So if its unmarked i am not stopping without a confirm from 999. And if someone comes at me on foot or in a car in a road rage, the car is insured but i am not so it can take the hits.

Duke O Smiley

thenightman wrote: »

...they can get very entitled.

Not just they!

My mother's uncle is retired now but he was an inspector in our local station and as we had the same surname it was a great card to pull when being interrogated at a checkpoint etc

GTE

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Put the reg through motortax.ie and see if it gives a tax rate for it, if it doesn't it's Garda owned.

Ask them for the Pulse number for the complaint, why wouldn't he be able to on the spot know if the car was a legitimate Garda car or not?

I got 280 a year back so its a private car by that metric. Good shout.

Regarding the reg, he said it did not come up having any marks against it. Thats when he suggested an off duty guard to me.

I guess also they wouldn't want to have a policy of confirming or denying unmarked registrations.

I may go ahead with a complaint now that the motor tax info has come up.

ba_barabus

antodeco wrote: »

I'd be 99% it was a Garda in his personal car on the way or from work. Some of them are exceptionally bad drivers ..

I'd fully believe it from experience. The only day my dash cam came in very handy. He didn't need to know it wasn't working though.

Glass fused light

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

thenightman wrote: »

...they can get very entitled.

Not just they!

a great card to pull

That and the right sports bag on the back seat

Glass fused light

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

thenightman wrote: »

...they can get very entitled.

Not just they!

a great card to pull

That and the right sports bag on the back seat

Atlantic Dawn

Glass fused light wrote: »

That and the right sports bag on the back seat

Or certain credit union book on dashboard.

davycc

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Or certain credit union book on dashboard.

St rapheals my garda friends have their calendars all over the shop!

Atlantic Dawn

davycc wrote: »

St rapheals my garda friends have their calendars all over the shop!

Yes when you don't have the official vehicle tax disc to protect you it's the only other thing the clampers look at , that or a DCC high viz vest over the steering wheel.

Strumms

You’d be a little worried knowing that there might be Gardai out there who lack good enough judgement and temperaments as to know when to just go about their day as a normal citizen ignoring the foibles of motorway driving which they might not personally agree with instead of getting all hot and bothered with their badge waving. Sounds only to be causing a distraction and unsafe.

Blueshoe

I wonder is it the same clown I came across last week. Same make of car and year. Silver Bmw. Thursday morning. M8 near cahir.

Came up behind him on the motorway and indicated to pass him out. He decided to brake check me and as I was passing I had a look across to see him screaming at me. Continued to beep and flash lights and followed me off at the next junction.

I went through one roundabout with him up my hole and at the next I was in the left lane to go straight ahead while he moved into the right. Tried to get in front of me and came close to hitting the side of me. I stopped in the middle of the road and he looped back around the roundabout and off the way he came from.

If you are out there buddy I carry a mechanics hammer in the door pocket of the car. Jump out the next time instead of driving away.

Was it a Westmeath or Meath reg by any chance?

kravmaga

bbk wrote: »

Hi all,

I had an odd one today.

The two lane N3 dual carriageway after M50 Blanchardstown, heading in to Dublin is where this happened. I was in Lane 2 and merged into Lane 1. I was well ahead of a silver 520d who took issue with me merging despite me being well before the arrows and lane closure and well ahead of his car.

He blocked me from moving for around 50 metres in slow traffic, so much so he nearly hit the side of the car; I was forced back into the closing Lane 2. I eventually got into the lane and he pulled up beside me in the bus lane and waved a what seemed like a Garda badge at me out of his window.

My partner alerted me to this, so out of shock I pulled over. There were no lights, no siren, just a car horn.

The driver got out and started shouting into my window and then moved off. He did not ask for any ID, insurance or anything like that. I don't think he brought his badge with him.

I felt this was so odd that I called the local Garda station and they said it sounded very fishy but it was not unheard of. The Garda on the phone said that if it was in fact a Garda, they were very much in the wrong and need a complaint taken out against them. He said in all likelihood, it is probably someone trying to impersonate a traffic cop.

The car in question was a 2011 520d M Sport. This seemed like an odd undercover car, there is nothing special about it to be different to the normal unmarked units.

The Garda asked me whether I would like to make a case about it at a station. He assured me that the registration is going to go through the system and if it is not in fact an unmarked Garda car, something will happen as a result.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

Thanks!

Did you actually see a Garda warrant card and photo ID,, it sound like to me that it might be his own personal vehicle. Id report him to be honest, what did he say to you by the way?? You said that he shouted at you?

Always Tired

Strumms wrote: »

You’d be a little worried knowing that there might be Gardai out there who lack good enough judgement and temperaments as to know when to just go about their day as a normal citizen ignoring the foibles of motorway driving which they might not personally agree with instead of getting all hot and bothered with their badge waving. Sounds only to be causing a distraction and unsafe.

Being able to get away with this sort of craic is what makes being a guard appealing to pr!cks, that's why the force tends to have its fair share.

No point going ahead with the complaint, OP. they'll do nothing about it as there is no proof of anything, and if it's local to where you are you might not want to get on any of their bad sides they can be vindictive...

Atlantic Dawn

Always Tired wrote: »

Being able to get away with this sort of craic is what makes being a guard appealing to pr!cks, that's why the force tends to have its fair share.

No point going ahead with the complaint, OP. they'll do nothing about it as there is no proof of anything, and if it's local to where you are you might not want to get on any of their bad sides they can be vindictive...

But putting it down as an official complaint and having details of it will be pure gold if said person goes on a mad one and OP has it on record that sweet FA was done about previous complaint, Donegal V2.0.

Strumms

Always Tired wrote: »

Being able to get away with this sort of craic is what makes being a guard appealing to pr!cks, that's why the force tends to have its fair share.

No point going ahead with the complaint, OP. they'll do nothing about it as there is no proof of anything, and if it's local to where you are you might not want to get on any of their bad sides they can be vindictive...

I’d agree, proof would be lacking. The best you might hope for would be that he’d get a talking to, which is probably all he’d get despite breaking the law.

elperello

Always Tired wrote: »

Being able to get away with this sort of craic is what makes being a guard appealing to pr!cks, that's why the force tends to have its fair share.

No point going ahead with the complaint, OP. they'll do nothing about it as there is no proof of anything, and if it's local to where you are you might not want to get on any of their bad sides they can be vindictive...

Nail on head, and so it goes, on and on.

Always Tired

Strumms wrote: »

I’d agree, proof would be lacking. The best you might hope for would be that he’d get a talking to, which is probably all he’d get despite breaking the law.

Trust me they break the law in way worse ways and with much stronger proof of it and still get away with it because GSOC are the same crowd as the cops. They are akin to HR in a company, put in place under the guise of protecting the citizen/employee but really they are there to protect the cops/employer. It's a farce.

And if you ever have to deal with the cops after making a complaint against them you better hope its not a situation where they can drum up some reason to cuff you or detain you, and don't expect them to be helpful if you call on them for any reason. Especially if it's a small area where they all know each other.

Just convince yourself that this cop was hot on the heels of a dangerous killer and his badge waving BS was justified because he's a hero, chasing down baddies even when off duty, and you dutifully did your part too by not obstructing him.

tayto lover

What a bunch of “heroes “ we have in here.

1. If it was someone impersonating a Garda then follow it up.
Or
2. If it was an off duty Garda forget about it.

Yellow to the toes.

The chan chan man

antodeco wrote: »

I'd be 99% it was a Garda in his personal car on the way or from work. Some of them are exceptionally bad drivers ..

Guaranteed! He sounds like a bo11ox anyway

Always Tired

tayto lover wrote: »

What a bunch of “heroes “ we have in here.

1. If it was someone impersonating a Garda then follow it up.
Or
2. If it was an off duty Garda forget about it.

Yellow to the toes.

I dont get the whole 'yellow to the toes' thing and calling people 'heroes'? What are you on about? Especially when part 2 of your post is exactly what's already been said by several posters, makes little sense then to be calling people out as yellow, when youre giving the same advice like.

Funny, the only kind of fella I could imagine uttering the phrase 'yellow to the toes' would be a copper. Saying daft shoite like that is more convincing than flashing a badge!

_Kaiser_

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Put the reg through motortax.ie and see if it gives a tax rate for it, if it doesn't it's Garda owned.

Ask them for the Pulse number for the complaint, why wouldn't he be able to on the spot know if the car was a legitimate Garda car or not?

They can't ..or at least, they say they can't.

I've encountered a few issues with unmarked squad cars (the latest one being an old model Mondeo acting like a tool on the motorway), and the stations will tell you that they can't trace it to its home district because they're all registered to HQ (makes sense I suppose).

HQ however won't give the info either (although they did previously when I rang them about an i40) citing data protection.

Seems more like the usual thing of AGS being a secret club rather than an accountable police force to me but there ya go.

mattser

davycc wrote: »

St rapheals my garda friends have their calendars all over the shop!

So much so, that you can't spell it correctly.

tayto lover

Always Tired wrote: »

I dont get the whole 'yellow to the toes' thing and calling people 'heroes'? What are you on about? Especially when part 2 of your post is exactly what's already been said by several posters, makes little sense then to be calling people out as yellow, when youre giving the same advice like.

Funny, the only kind of fella I could imagine uttering the phrase 'yellow to the toes' would be a copper. Saying daft shoite like that is more convincing than flashing a badge!

Both points 1 and 2 were what was being said by posters in here. Cowardly stuff with nobody having the guts to challenge him if they were in the OP’s position.

And no I’m not a Garda. I’d be too strict and wouldn’t take the shoite at all.

Negative_G

Blueshoe wrote: »

If you are out there buddy I carry a mechanics hammer in the door pocket of the car. Jump out the next time instead of driving away.

Lol. I'd say he's out there shaking in his boots.

I find this type of comment embarrassing from what is presumably a grown adult.

tayto lover

Negative_G wrote: »

Lol. I'd say he's out there shaking in his boots.

I find this type of comment embarrassing from what is presumably a grown adult.

Ha ha they’re all super heroes.

corks finest

thenightman wrote: »

Off duty Garda I'd say. My brother is one and drives in bus lanes in his own car, and flashes his Garda badge/wallet thing if anyone gives him grief. Same when he uses public transport or going into busy pubs with queues. They can get very entitled.

Corruption is rampant in the force, starts small

ofcork

Do you not have to stop if they flash the badge at you from their own car.

Lord Nikon

I don;t stop for any cars no matter what they wave at me, unless they are in a marked car, or an unmarked car with blue lights on. Don't know how many times I've had cars drive right up behind me, literally touching my bumper. I put the foot down and leave them in behind, and I do this regardless of who is driving the car, Garda or not. I won't be intimidated if I'm obeying the law.

corks finest

Lord Nikon wrote: »

I don;t stop for any cars no matter what they wave at me, unless they are in a marked car, or an unmarked car with blue lights on. Don't know how many times I've had cars drive right up behind me, literally touching my bumper. I put the foot down and leave them in behind, and I do this regardless of who is driving the car, Garda or not. I won't be intimidated if I'm obeying the law.

Same