2 Florida Women Arrested After Going Live On Facebook & Impersonating Officers
2 Florida women, Jymieka McDowell, 28 of Sarasota, and Ryshawnna Poole, 39 of Manatee County, have been arrested after going live on Facebook and impersonating police officers for a fake traffic stop.
Per the Sarasota Police Department, detectives say the two women — who are now facing charges of impersonating an officer and false imprisonment — have done this before and are now asking any potential victim(s) to come forward and report them.
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This latest incident went down on Sunday (Jan. 24) before 1 a.m. Police responded to a call about an officer in distress. After searching the area, they found the women with a car pulled over onto the shoulder of a road. The women’s car was equipped with red and blue lights, and a siren. In their Facebook live, they threatened the people in the other vehicle, “Driver, exit the vehicle, Put your f***ing hands up driver. I need everyone to exit the f***ing car. Do not make a move. Black lives don’t f***ing matter. Anybody move and I will shoot.”
Chief Bernadette DiPino stated, “This wasn’t Sarasota police officers pulling over a car. These were people who were pretending to be law enforcement officers and putting fear into innocent victims and residents of our community. If you ever suspect if someone is pulling you over that you feel isn’t a law enforcement officer, call 911 to validate the traffic stop.”
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