COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Police in Cobb County say a man impersonated an officer using red lights and sirens to stop traffic and guide a funeral procession.
Officers said Daniel Harr was in a retired police vehicle using flashing red lights, had handcuffs, and a non-lethal weapon holstered to his hip.
His attorney told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that his client wasn’t impersonating an officer, he was directing traffic for a funeral procession.
Acworth police said something unusual caught an officer’s attention along South Main Street when the officer saw Harr.
“They observed a vehicle stopping traffic using red lights,” Acworth Police Officer Eric Mistretta said. “He was dressed similar to what an officer would wear.”
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Investigators said Harr was wearing a badge-like insignia on his shirt, he had handcuffs and a non-lethal gun holstered to his hip, as he directed a funeral procession.
“It appears to be similar to a police car, the lights, even the type of markings on it specialized unit for a K-9,” Mistreetta said. “You can see online other vehicles like that, that match the similar description.”
Police showed Newell pictures of a vehicle Harr has used in the past for his funeral escort business.
Harr is facing two charges including impersonating a police officer.
“To make it as safe as possible, the easiest thing for him to do was to use a vehicle with lights and to dress in a manner that was more likely to cause people to be aware of him and respect what he was trying to do,” Harr’s attorney David West said.
West said his client was enforcing traffic for a funeral, something he said Harr has done for years with no problems.
“He never stopped a car. He never told someone he was police,” West said. “Impersonating a police officer means he was holding himself out to be a police officer which he categorically was not.”
Harr has since shut his business down. He has been out of jail on bond.
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