Marin Man Accused Of Posing As Cop During Road Rage
NOVATO (CBS SF) - California Highway Patrol officers in Marin County arrested a Novato man on Saturday morning after he allegedly threatened a woman while pretending to be a law enforcement officer in Bel Marin Keys.
Allen Clem, 52, was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a peace officer after a female driver reported that a motorist repeatedly cut her off on westbound Bel Marin Keys Boulevard, according to the CHP.
The woman told investigators she called 911 after a man driving a Chevrolet truck cut her off and blocked her path at 11 a.m. She told the CHP the man approached her car on foot, flashed a badge, confronted her about how she was driving and threatened her with arrest, investigators said.
The suspect then left, and the woman continued driving west on Bel Marin Keys Boulevard toward U.S. Highway 101. She then saw the man's truck parked on the side of the road. The man pulled out into traffic and intentionally cut off the woman and blocked her movement on the roadway for a second time, according to the CHP.
Once again, the woman told investigators, the man approached her on foot, flashed a badge and threatened her with arrest. The suspect then drove away on westbound Bel Marin Keys Boulevard, but then turned his vehicle around and then started heading east toward the woman, CHP officials said.
The man then allegedly swerved onto westbound Bel Marin Keys Boulevard as if he were going to strike the woman's car. He came within several feet of her car before swerving back around, according to the CHP.
The CHP used the license plate number and the description of the Chevrolet truck given by the victim to track down Clem at his home in Novato.
In Clem's truck, officers found an item that resembled a badge, two loaded handguns, a civilian model Taser, a machete and marijuana, according to the CHP.
Clem was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, making threats, impersonating a peace officer, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, driving on a suspended license, and possession of marijuana.
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