Lawyer Calls Police Car Impersonation Citation Silly and Comical

The lawyer representing a man who recently received a citation from Braintree police for impersonating a police car has called the charges comical and silly.

Braintree attorney Russell Matson said that the man, whose identity has not been released by police, never impersonated a police car and he told police in advance that he was painting his car to look like a Decepticon from Transformers according to WCVB.

The comments were the first from the defendant’s attorney since the citation was written in early August.

In addition to the comments, Matson has created a page on My Massachusetts Defense Lawyer for his client to explain his side of the story.

“The car itself, while certainly distinctive, did not have any blue lights like an actual police car. Despite decoration that make it look similar to a police car, it does not bear any official town or state seal of any police department,” Matson said on the website

According to the website the client is a Transformers fan who had the car dipped with a removable rubber spray to look like the character Barricade.

The driver was stopped on Saturday, Aug. 9 around 4 p.m., after Braintree Deputy Police Chief Wayne Foster passed the car in Braintree Square. Foster said pulled the car over because he “didn’t know of any (police) department that had a Maserati.”

The driver told Foster he was assisting the police “because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle.”

The Barricade/police car look-alike is actually a 2010 Maserati Quattroporte, and typically costs $102,500 according to Uproxx.

Written on the side of the shield was the character’s motto: “Punish and Enslave,” a different take on the usual police slogan “Protect and Serve.” No official police slogans or emblems were on the car nor did the driver act as a police officer while driving the car.

Matson and his client will be in Quincy District Court on Sept. 4 for a clerk magistrate hearing. During the hearing, the clerk can decide whether to drop the charges or if there’s enough evidence for a formal criminal complaint and arraignment.

Photo Credit: Braintree Police