http://66.225.205.104/MT20110624.mp3
Davidson police are trying to find out if any residents have been pulled over by someone who is not a police officer. The investigation started last week, after they arrested a man for driving a vehicle that looks like a police car. But the driver says there's no harm intended - he was just repossessing vehicles. John Morse is a repo man. He owns Auto Recovery Enforcement of North Carolina, based in Statesville. One afternoon last week, he said he and his 23-year-old grandson were searching for two vehicles in Davidson they were hired to repossess. They were driving a tan crown vic with a burgundy stripe that Morse said his company always uses. That same afternoon, Davidson police were on their own investigation. But Detective Steve Ingram said they switched gears when they noticed Morse's car. It had a push bumper on the front, in-car video camera hanging from the interior of the vehicle, and blacked out windows, Ingram said. "It was a Crown Victoria that had 'police interceptor' on the front of it," Ingram said. Police pulled the car over and arrested John Morse. They charged him with driving a vehicle that resembles a law enforcement car. Morse said he was surprised. "I bought this car last June," Morse said. "I've driven it every day in Iredell County, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus and many other counties. I've encountered sheriff's deputies, detectives, DMV enforcement agents that I deal with with our car business. There have been no questions or no problems from anyone at all prior to this." There's nothing in North Carolina law that says you can't drive a car that looks like a police vehicle. But it is illegal if you do it with the intent of impersonating a police officer. Morse said he wasn't trying to do that. But he said he did have a night stick, pepper spray and a taser - as he does on every repo job. He says his crown vic does make his job easier. "The fact that that vehicle allows me to move around in dangerous areas without being harassed is the main reason," Morse said. "If I hadn't had one for so many years it might be odd, but that's the only type of vehicle I've ever used in this investigation type of work that repossession has become." But Morse said that's different from impersonating a police officer. While the law enforcement authorities address that question, Morse remains free on $2,500 bond. The charge is a misdemeanor.