Bodycam footage shows moments Gwinnett County police arrest man claiming to be state trooper

LOGANVILLE, Ga. — New body camera footage from the Gwinnett County police shows the moments an officer said a man lied about being a state trooper.

Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson received exclusive copies of the video, showing how the situation unfolded.

Police said the interaction shows how serious police are when people try to impersonate law enforcement officers.

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“I’m state patrol,” a suspect said on body camera footage.

An officer responds back, asking “You’re state patrol?”

“I know a little more than you,” the suspect replied on camera.

The officer in this case said the man he arrested chose the wrong person to mess with, turning what could have been a simple citation into months of legal trouble.

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The incident started when a Gwinnett County officer went to speak with a man accused of threatening people inside a bowling alley.

The officer told Channel 2 Action News he didn’t expect what would happen next.

“What’s going on,” the officer asks the man on camera.

“You understand disorderly conduct, and public drunk,” the officer said.

“I’m state patrol, I know a little bit more than you know,” the man said in the recording.

The Gwinnett officer asked the 34-year-old man for more information while standing outside of a Loganville Stars and Strikes over the summer.

“You’re identifying yourself as a state trooper and I want your ID,” the officer told him. The man repeated that he knew more than the officer questioning him in response and that he didn’t need to give his ID to the officer.

When the officer didn’t receive proof the man he was speaking to was a state trooper, and when the man started urinating in public, he called for backup before attempting to arrest him.

“Tried to say he was GSP. Drunk, very strong possibility we may have to fight him,” the officer said while requesting backup.

Later on, the man was identified as William Godsey. He spent the night in the Gwinnett County Jail on June 30.

Days later, the officer reviewed the footage and decided to issue a felony warrant for Godsey’s arrest for impersonating an officer.

Last week, he was booked into jail for the new felony charge. A relative told officers Godsey was already on probation, according to the police report.

What could have been just a citation led to an extended stay in jail, without bond.

“He just chose the wrong place in the wrong person to act a fool with so I hate it for him. But he sealed his deal,” the officer said.

Godsey’s attorney has filed paperwork to have him released.

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