Was this driver pulled over in Kirkland by undercover cop ... or an impostor?



KIRKLAND -- William Maupin said Wednesday he was driving on I-405 in Kirkland when he was pulled over by what he thought was an undercover officer in an unmarked police car Tuesday.

"I was driving my car and looked behind me and lights were flashing," Maupin said. "I thought I was getting pulled over for a speeding ticket.

"He pulled over, got behind me but he didn't come to a complete stop. He kept going, drove by me really slowly and parked about 75 yards in front of me."

Maupin said he thought it was odd, but he pulled up to the unmarked car anyway.

"I thought it was an officer. I didn't want to approach him in a threatening way, so I was driving up really slow and by the time I got next to him he had opened his door, got out and had his gun and yelled, 'What the f*** are you doing?'

"Then I grabbed my phone in my center console, picked it up and said, I'm recording this."

Maupin said he and his passenger asked the man for his identification, but weren't given any ID or any real answers, so they drove away.

We showed Maupin's video to Washington State Patrol Sgt. Keith Leary.

"My first reaction is if it is a police officer, there's definitely some issues going on there," Leary said. "If this is a real police officer, in my opinion, being a previous field training officer, is there probably needs to be some retraining there."

Leary noted that when an officer pulls you over, he normally parks behind you.

"I'm going to introduce myself, I'm going to say, hi, I'm Sergeant Keith Leary with the Washington State Patrol, the reason why I stopped you today was for ... then I'm going to ask you for your driver's license, your registration and your proof of insurance -- those are the three things we say in our sleep."

The State Patrol says they had another report of a possible police impersonation Wednesday on southbound I-5 in Everett. The driver reported an unmarked car and an alleged officer in street clothes who said he would mail the driver's ticket to their home.