A Lafayette man has been arrested for the impersonation of a police officer, among other charges. Senior Corporal Matthew Benoit of the Lafayette Police says 57-year-old Brad Schexnayder was driving recklessly on Northeast Evangeline Thruway before he suddenly came to a stop in front of an 18-wheeler and stepped out of his vehicle…
“Mr. Schexnayder, he identified himself as a Lafayette Police officer and tried to give (the driver) commands to get out of the vehicle,” said Benoit. “In the process of that, he wound up striking the victim in the face with a closed fist. And then, he actually got back into his vehicle and fled the scene.”
After leaving the scene, Schexnayder headed to work where he is employed by a private security company and where he got his uniform. Benoit says that unfortunately for Schexnayder, technology was not on his side.
“The entire event was recorded on the truck driver’s camera,” he said. “Which investigators were able to piece together all of that information from that and establish who he was and where he lived.”
Schexnayder was tracked to his home in Youngsville. Following a brief standoff, he was taken into custody and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on charges of impersonation of a police officer, simple battery, and reckless operation of a vehicle. Benoit says people playing pretend policeman isn’t something you see very often.
“I mean, it’s not something we see every day,” Benoit added. “It seems like it was some kind of road rage incident that kind of occurred.”
If convicted Schexnayder faces up to a $1000 fine and potentially two years in jail.
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