Man accused of impersonating officer

DELAND, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - Authorities in Volusia County say a man was caught impersonating a law enforcement officer, after he was pulled over by a Volusia deputy in an unmarked vehicle.

It looks like a undercover vehicle with flashing lights -- it was even decked out with a laptop, public address system and a police thin blue line sticker.

"I thought he was a cop when I first moved here."

Eric Panacek is talking about his neighbor Thomas Farmer.

Deputies say 64-year-old Farmer used the vehicle to pull people over, several times in Volusia County throughout the years.

He got away with it, until investigators say he pulled over a deputy in an unmarked truck.Investigators say Farmer activated his lights and used his public address system to give him a verbal warning.

But the deputy knew something was wrong and instead pulled Farmer over and arrested him for impersonating a law enforcement officer.

According to deputies Farmer received warnings for similar behavior in 2009 and 2012,but now he's charged with False Personation of  a law enforcement officer.

Eric says Farmer would often turn on the lights when driving in their neighborhood.

"I've heard he's pulled people over before

So I kinda avoided him because that's weird, that's bad."

According to the arrest report, Farmer told the deputy to drive carefully and have a nice day over his loud speaker. After being pulled over, he apologized to the deputy and said he respected law enforcement.