Florida Residents Beware of Fake Cops ID’d as the ‘Booty Patrol’: Deputies

A Florida sheriff’s office is warning residents to beware of fake cops who identify themselves as the “Booty Patrol,” but others think the deputies need to “leave the man alone.”

On Monday, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office posted an announcement to their Facebook page claiming that a vehicle had been “impersonating law enforcement” in several counties across the state.

The sheriff’s office described the vehicle as a white Chevy Silverado with green decals and red and blue lights that assumedly resemble police sirens. Images of the vehicle attached to the post-show that the green decals actually read “Booty Patrol.”

Deputies asked the community for information about the “suspicious vehicle” and for anyone who may have experienced an incident with the truck to come forward.

“Your cooperation is crucial in helping us address this issue and ensuring the safety of our community,” the sheriff’s department wrote on Facebook.

But while deputies appear to be taking the truck seriously, several members of the community have commented on the post that they think it is a joke and that the sheriff’s office is focusing on the wrong things.

One user commented, “This is a show truck…No one is being pulled over. Nice try though.” Another wrote, “Is this serious? If anyone thinks this is a real officer they have a problem. I have seen this drive around all the time and I always get a chuckle out of it. Leave the man alone.”

The post by the sheriff’s office has garnered more than 330 reactions and almost 400 shares. Several of the users in the comment section said they doubted the deputies’ inquiry that the truck may have been pulling people over. As one person pointed out with the timing of the post, “It’s Halloween.”

The driver of the truck, 18-year-old Gabriel Luviano, told NBC 2 that he spent thousands of dollars decking out his truck with lights and other modifications.

The teen said his goal with the vehicle was to make people laugh and “just to have fun,” but he said he was pulled over by a DeSoto County sheriff on Sunday and ticketed for having the red and blue lights. However, Luviano said he never uses the lights out on the road; he only uses them when parked on private property.

Luviano maintained that he has never pulled anyone over, but the sheriff’s office said that simply having the red and blue lights can be enough for deputies to accuse him of impersonating a police vehicle.