High-speed impersonation: South Carolina man arrested for pretending to be police officer

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A South Carolina man was arrested for speeding and impersonating an officer during a traffic stop.

Harry Levern, Jr., 22, of Lynchburg, South Carolina, was charged with speeding and impersonating a police officer.

A spokesperson for the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office says Levern was clocked at nearly 100 mph driving along Interstate 85.

Investigators say when Levern pulled over, the deputy smelled a marijuana odor coming from his vehicle. When the deputy told him that it was probable cause to search his car, investigators say Levern told the deputy he understood, as he was a deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

If Lavern was, in fact, a deputy, he would know that deputies have laptops, cellphones and internet access, all with the ability to quickly investigate his claims of being a law enforcement officer.

After contacting Sumter County authorities, and learning that Levern was not an employee, the deputy delivered the bad news.

In the incident report, the deputy wrote that Levern eventually admitted that he was not a deputy. 

He was taken into custody and booked into the Coweta County Jail.