ICYMI: 74-Year-Old Arrested For Impersonating a Police Officer

NORCROSS, GA -- A 74-year-old Gwinnett County man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer.

Bruce Christie was slapped with the felony charge on Tuesday, after actual police say he showed fake ID and claimed to be an Alabama officer at a Norcross pawn shop.

Police were called by an employee from Dynasty Jewelry & Loan in Norcross, who told them that Christie presented ID at the shop that identified him as a Cottonwood Police Department officer from Alabama.

"The employee thought that this was suspicious as police do not display their official credentials to complete a pawn transaction," a police news release said. "As a result, the employee was even more suspicious about the validity of those credentials."

The next day, a Gwinnett Police officer was at the pawn shop gathering more information when Christie walked in again, attempting to pawn a shotgun.

He never acknowledged the presence of the uniformed Gwinnett officer, which the officer noted was odd, but not illegal.

The officer then stepped outside and, according to the news release, called the Cottonwood Police Department. He spoke to the chief of police, who told him that Christie was not, in fact, an employee of the agency.

During that conversation, Christie walked outside, got into his car and drove off. The officer followed but, before he could make a traffic stop, Christie stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road, police say.

When the officer introduced himself, Christie replied with, "Hello, I'm Captain Christie," the release says.

Christie said he was a current police officer and showed a Cottonwood Police ID and badge. At that point, the officer placed Christie under arrested and took him to the Gwinnett County Detention Center, where he remained Friday.

"Impersonating a police officer is a serious felony in the state of Georgia and we take these types of cases very seriously," Gwinnett Police Cpl. Deon Washington said in the release. "Citizens can rest assured that if anyone falsely represents them self as a police officer in Gwinnett County they will go to jail."

(Photos courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department)