A man has been convicted after pretending to be a police officer and flashing a badge at a woman after a road rage incident in Solihull.
Simon Mansel, 38, was “obsessed” with the police, had worked for a number of the forces in the past and had a stolen set of handcuffs, a court heard.
He was found guilty of impersonating a police officer, threatening behaviour and two counts of theft.
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The offences related to police epaulettes, a warrant card, handcuffs and a shirt he had failed to return to West Midlands Police and the Ministry of Defence Police following employment stints as a detention officer and firearms officer respectively, reports Birmingham Live.
Around 8.30am on February 9 this year he pulled up his MG alongside Kelly Wilson on Lode Lane in Solihull and yelled at her to get off her mobile phone. The victim, a mother who works as a carer, stated her phone was on the dashboard but accepted she told him to 'shut up' in response.
Mansel then pulled in front of her car and braked, before getting out and confronting her. He was alleged to have flashed a badge and said: "I can prosecute you for that, if I see you again I'll f***ing kill you."
Ms Wilson stated the incident "scared the life out of me" and that she was left shaking. Mansel claimed he was "just trying to be the best citizen I could".
He denied posing as a police officer and said: "I wouldn't need to I have served as a police officer. I'm blessed and fortunate enough to do that. There is no reason for me to impersonate one."
Quizzed about his career history Mansel told the court he had been "brought up on crime drama The Bill" as well as other emergency services television shows at his nan's home. He confirmed he had also tried to be a firefighter but his "eyesight wasn't very good at the time".
Prosecutor Timothy Talbot-Webb probed him on the police issue items found in his bedroom upon arrest and said: "You're a little bit obsessed with the police aren't you? You stole those items because you wanted them?"
Mansel claimed he had simply forgotten to return the items following his employment but denied it was his intention to permanently keep them. Magistrates found him guilty of all counts and adjourned sentencing to a later date for a probation report on Mansel, who had a previously clean criminal record.
The Chair of the Bench stated it was "odd at best" he had flashed a badge at Ms Wilson but they were not certain he had threatened to kill her.
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