Elkhart man arrested for impersonating police officer

Tribune Staff Report

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Vernon Nolan Elkhart police impersonator

Vernon Nolan (Photo provided)

By Tiffany Griffin

Story Created: Sep 18, 2008 at 10:54 AM EST

Story Updated: Sep 19, 2008 at 3:12 PM EST

ELKHART — An Elkhart man was arrested late Wednesday after reportedly approaching a group of teens and trying to impersonate a police officer.

According to Lt. Ed Windbigler of the Elkhart Police Department, five teens were in High Dive Park about 9:30 p.m. when they were approached by 36-year-old Vernon Nolan, who identified himself as a police officer and started asking questions about some other people who were in the park.

One of the teens asked Nolan for identification because he was driving a pickup truck and wearing civilian clothes. He produced a wallet and briefly displayed it, saying that he had a badge. He also talked on some type of two-way radio that was mounted in the truck, as if he was talking to other officers.

The teens, however, questioned his identity a second time, and Nolan began to threaten to arrest them. He also reportedly made a comment about having a gun in his vehicle. At one point he told one of the teens to turn about and place their hands behind their back. It was at that time a 17-year-old female called the police and requested an officer come to the park. While the teen was on the phone, Nolan left the park in his vehicle.

The teen provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, and an Elkhart Police officer soon spotted the truck, pulled it over and arrested Nolan. He failed sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Indiana, police said.

Nolan was arrested on preliminary charges of impersonating an officer and driving under the influence of alcohol. He was taken to the Elkhart County Jail, where he remained Thursday pending formal charges.

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