Maserati "patrol car" raises police suspicions

BRAINTREE, Mass. - Police patrol cars are usually Fords or Chryslers, not Maseratis.

So when a patrolman in Braintree, Mass. spotted a Maserati disguised as a police cruiser over the weekend, he pulled it over.

Deputy Chief Wayne Foster tells The Patriot Ledger the body of luxury Italian sportscar was painted black and white with a police-style shield on the doors, and police-related decals.

Foster said the door shield wasn't accompanied by the usual police phrase "Protect and Serve," but rather with "Decepticons punish and enslave."

The driver told the officer who pulled him over that he was actually assisting police "because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle."

Nice try, huh?

The driver, whose name was not made public, was summoned to court to face a charge of impersonating a police officer.