Man pleads guilty to impersonating a police officer following incident in Corsham

A man has appeared in court this morning charged with impersonating a police officer.

Chris Green, 31, of Nursery Close, Peterborough, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court today.

Green pleaded guilty and was released on conditional bail until his next court appearance on July 5th at Peterborough Magistrates Court when he will be sentenced.

Green was arrested by officers following an incident in Corsham on May 6 where he stopped a member of the public who was driving her vehicle in Longsplat.

Green claimed to be a police officer and challenged the woman on her manner of driving.

The woman was concerned about the nature of the incident and contacted police.

When officers arrested Green, an LED lightbar was seized from the vehicle.

Det Insp Matt Smith said: “This was understandably a very unsettling incident for the woman involved, and will no doubt cause concern within the local community. I am pleased that the victim called police immediately which enabled us to locate the vehicle quickly and arrest Green, and seize items from his vehicle as part of our investigation.

“We’d urge anyone who may feel unsure whether a person they are dealing with is a genuine police officer to call us on 101 to check their identity immediately. If a crime is in progress, call 999.

“We’d also urge anyone with further information about this incident, or who thinks they have been victim to a similar incident, to call the police on 101.”

Wiltshire Police also offers a simple verification process to the public which will allow them to confirm that an officer is on duty.

All officers can proactively offer to carry out a verification check to anyone they engage with who appears concerned for their safety or vulnerable by putting their personal issue radio on loudspeaker and asking a member of our control room to confirm who they are and that they are on duty.

This check can also be requested by any concerned member of the public.