A man who pretended to be a police officer and used blue lights to pull over another driver has walked free.
Richard Moriarty turned on the lights after seeing another vehicle driving in a way he didn’t like on the Rainhill Bypass in November last year.
He was found out after the driver he stopped became suspicious and contacted the police themselves.
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An earlier hearing at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard how the 46-year-old was driving along the road in an Audi A4 when he saw a Range Rover pass him driving in a way he thought was unacceptable.
He then turned on blue lights he had in his car and pulled the vehicle over.
Andrew Page, prosecuting on that occasion, explained how Moriarty got out and questioned the motorist about his driving.
He said: “He asked if he had any identification. He showed Moriarty his identification and said it was his own personal car.
“Moriarty warned him not to drive erratically again, got back into his own vehicle and drove off.
“The two men suspected he was not a police officer and rang the police and took photographs of his car and provided a statement.”
Police later went to Moriarty’s home in St Helens where they arrested him.
He later said he had the lights because he frequently acted as a “pacing vehicle” for track racing days near Manchester Airport.
Colin Rawson, defending at today’s sentencing hearing, said Moriarty had acted in the moment but now recognised that the use of the blue lights alone was a crime.
Mr Rawson said: “He fully accepts that in that moment he has used those lights to pull over the car and give them a warning.
“He now fully accepts that is an offence and he should not have done that.”
The court heard that police had found a number of items imitating police uniforms.
Moriarty said these were from a fancy dress costume years ago, though prosecutors said police had decided not to return a number of these items to Moriarty.
The search of his house in the aftermath of the fake police stop also saw police recover a three pronged combat knife, meaning Moriarty was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.
Mr Rawson said Moriarty accepted responsibility for having the knife but that it was kept for decorative purposes and there was no suggestion it had ever been taken outside the house.
He said Moriarty suffered from a range of physical and mental health problems and asked the judge to take them into consideration when sentencing.
Mr Rawson also appealed to the judge to spare Moriarty a driving ban despite his actions during the police stop.
However, District Judge Bosworth said that driving ban, along with a suspended sentence, was necessary because of Moriarty’s behaviour.
Labelling Moriarty’s actions “extraordinarily ill-judged”, District Judge Bosworth said: “The public need to have confidence in their dealings with police officers.”
Moriarty, of Bosworth Road, was handed two consecutive 10 week jail terms, suspended for a year.
He was banned from driving for a year, must undertake rehabilitation activities and pay costs and the statutory surcharge.
