GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A North Carolina man says he came to Georgia to help out local police, but metro Atlanta officers say his idea of helping could have killed someone.
Gwinnett County police say Michael Purciful, 41, of Gastonia, North Carolina, parked in the middle of Interstate 85 near Indian Trail Road around 4 a.m. Saturday. They say two cars nearly rear-ended him.
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“I can control traffic and write property damage, which, in turn, frees you all up to go write and do high-priority calls,” Purciful told police on body camera footage. “I’m an officer just like you.”
Inside the car, officers found a laminated photo naming Purciful a “Civilian Traffic Control Officer.” A second graphic identified him as part of a group with the motto “Three States, One Peace.”
When officers asked whether he had attended a police academy, Purciful said he had not.
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“It’s like kindergarten, preschool,” he said. “Y’all are in high school. I’m in preschool. I’m on the training phase.”
Purciful said a purple light mounted on his car helped other drivers move over as he merged on and off the highway. Stopping in a lane of travel is a misdemeanor under Georgia law, and so is identifying yourself as a law enforcement officer when you are not one.
Purciful is being held at the Gwinnett County Jail on both charges.
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