A 20-year-old Winter Haven man found the hard way that DIY police work is not permitted in Polk County, especially when bespoke emergency lights are only used to win highway arguments.
On Wednesday, June 9, 2026, at 10:27 p.m., the Polk County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a bewildered driver in the Wahneta region. The caller said that an older model Chevy vehicle with flashing red and blue lights had stopped him over before quickly speeding away into the night.
A responding officer observed the truck speeding down Bomber Road and decided to give the driver a taste of the real deal by initiating his own traffic stop.
The driver, Misael Guerrero-Ramirez, was not hiding his setup. The deputy quickly saw two red and blue LED lights mounted on the front windscreen.
When queried about the homemade cruiser, Guerrero-Ramirez provided a refreshingly forthright response. According to the sheriff’s office, he told the deputy that he only uses the lights on people who “brake-check” him and that the flashing colours are quite efficient in convincing reluctant drivers to move out of his way.
While the strategy may have cleared his lane in the past, it also cleared his calendar for the evening. Guerrero-Ramirez was detained and taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Centre, where he was charged with a third-degree felony for impersonating a law enforcement officer.
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