Woman Busted for Driving This Imitation Cop Car Offers Amazing Excuse

Some people dream of becoming police officers, while others—like one woman in South Florida—just want to drive their fancy cars.

Florida State Trooper Alexander Monte de Oca Viera was driving on the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County when noticed something strange on the road: a car that looked like a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle, but not quite. Monte de Oca Viera pulled the Dodge Charger over and discovered that the driver behind the wheel wasn't one of his Highway Patrol colleagues, but 28-year-old Instagram influencer Iulia Pugachev.

Pugachev had her fake cop car decked out with a light bar on the roof and a siren system in addition to FHP's signature black and beige paint. What tipped the officer off, though, were decals on the side that read "FSO Guard" (her security company) and another one resembling a police department badge.

Monte de Oca Viera described Pugachev's unique excuse for the design: she wanted to wrap the vehicle in black and tan "because she had previously seen FHP's marked patrol units and fell in love with the color scheme," according to the arrest report. The trooper accused her of operating a motor vehicle without registration, misusing a dealer license plate, and engaging in the imitation of the FHP marked unit.

Florida Highway Patrol's Miami unit issued a warning on social media to all those who are thinking about driving an imitation cop car. "As a reminder, it is a first-degree misdemeanor for a vehicle to be painted with the same color scheme prescribed for FHP vehicles," the post read.

Remember, dressing as a police officer is also technically illegal, so you might want to reconsider your cop costume for Halloween.