A St. Albert man who pretended to be a cop faces a suspended sentence.
In Barrhead Provincial Court Dec. 20, Mark Andrew Capowski, 37, pleaded guilty to three counts of personating a police officer, one charge of personating a peace officer and unlawful confinement.
Judge Vaughn Myers handed Capowski a 12-month suspended sentence, 40 hours of community service and $500 in fines following a joint submission.
Court heard that on July 27 and July 28, Capowski was observed performing traffic stops in Westlock County, utilizing police equipment such as a two-way radio.
In addition, on April 19 and June 15, Capowski was observed performing similar duties in St. Albert.
Both St. Albert and Westlock RCMP had received reports of a man pulling over motorists using a white or silver Chevrolet Suburban with a black grill and push bar and undercover lights.
In August, RCMP sent out a news release about the July arrest of a man who said he was a police officer after he pulled over vehicles near Fawcett, then asked to see the drivers’ licences, vehicle registrations and insurance cards.
He then gave back the documents and asked to scan the drivers’ thumbs.
“He was pulling people over for alleged speeding violations and actually briefly detained one individual in the back of his doctored personal vehicle,” Crown prosecutor Jeff Morrison said in Barrhead Provincial Court Dec. 20.
Capowski’s lawyer said his client was embarrassed by the incidents, noting that the vehicle in question is to be sold and no longer bears any official police identification.
