Man With Fake FBI Badge, BB Gun Leads Stafford Police On A Chase: Cops

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — A man produced a fake FBI badge while leading Stafford County deputies on chase on Sunday afternoon, according to the sheriff's office. The man, who police identified as 49-year-old Nicholas Rudolph, faces several charges.

The incident began around 7:45 p.m. on Sunday in the parking lot of Stafford Market Place. Construction crews told deputies they were preparing to work when they approached a black Honda SUV that was parked in the lot. The crews asked the driver to move, police said.

When one construction worker approached the SUV, the drive flashed a badge and pointed a gun at him, according to the police report. When deputies arrived, the SUV began to drive away, authorities said.

Deputies chased the SUV onto Garrisonville Road, Route 1, and then northbound I-95, the sheriff's office said. Deputies tried to use a rolling road block to stop the chase, but they were unsuccessful.

"Speeds reached a high of 88 miles per hour as the suspect flashed an FBI badge from the window at deputies," the sheriff's office said in its report.

The chase ended near mile marker 153 in Prince William County when one deputy used the Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver against the suspect's SUV.

The PIT maneuver is a strategy used by law enforcement in an attempt to end a car chase, as noted in a study by the Department of Justice. The pursuing police car aligns its front wheels with the fleeing cars rear wheels and turns the steering wheel into the fleeing car. This may cause the fleeing vehicle to lose control and spin out, ending the chase.

After the chase, the suspect surrendered to deputies. Authorities identified the suspect as Rudolph and recovered a BB gun and fake FBI credentials from his vehicle, according to the police report.

Rudolph is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, brandishing, obstruction, reckless driving and eluding. He is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

The sheriff's office said they notified the FBI about the incident, and an investigation is still ongoing.