CMPD: Man arrested after impersonating officer, attempting to make traffic stop in north Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a man was arrested on suspicion of impersonating an officer in north Charlotte.

According to the CMPD, Manuel Marquez attempted to conduct a traffic stop early Thursday morning along Ethel Guest Lane near Statesville Avenue.

The victim told Channel 9 he was driving home after dropping his wife off at work when Marquez sped up behind him, right at his bumper, and he knew something wasn't right.

“I noticed this white vehicle approaching rapidly,” the victim said. “As I got right here to Geraldine Powe Drive and Ethel Guest Lane, he started flashing his lights and everything, and that's when I seen the blue bar and red bar in his grill."

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The victim said Marquez pulled into his driveway and after a brief dialogue, the suspect got out of the car and moved toward the victim's home.

"He pulls in my driveway, so I exit my vehicle and I ask him, 'Can I help you?' He says 'What's up with you?' with this deranged look in his face,” the victim said.

(Manuel Marquez)

The victim said he went inside the house to call 911 and Marquez started beating on his front door.

"He's got an object in his hand, probably about 6 to 8 inches,” the victim said. “He started twisting at my doorknob. He kicked my door twice like he was trying to get forced entry, and I'm telling 911 what's happening, and she tells me, ‘Do I have any kind of weapon to protect myself? I told her, I said, ‘I only have a pocket knife.’"

CMPD officers said that when they arrived at the scene they found cocaine, handcuffs, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency badge, a red and blue light bar, a Central Intelligence Agency hat and several other law enforcement-related items in Marquez's possession.

Marquez was arrested on charges of possession of police paraphernalia and impersonating a law enforcement official.

Officials said the suspect does not have any prior arrests in Mecklenburg County.

"That's still scary. I'm standing here just shaking,” the victim said. “That's a way to bring in a new year, man. It's scary. I mean, I was telling my kids last night, I don't know, I could have been shot or anything, nobody would've ever known anything."

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