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Denver PD: Impersonator tried to pull over cop

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An alleged criminal picked the wrong victim to target during his time as a fake cop.

Denver Police say Robert Montoya, 47, tried to pull over one of their detectives, in an unmarked cop car, on Saturday. The suspect flashed blue-and-white strobe lights inside of his car, a police report says.

The detective checked in with dispatch, which sent officers in that direction. They pulled over Montoya at Park Avenue West and Blake Street.

"We were astonished to see the lengths that the individual has taken to try and replicate what a police car would look like," said Denver Police commander Paul Pazen.

According to investigators, Montoya, from Thornton, was traveling with a light kit, a laptop mounted on a stand and a scanner radio.

"The vehicle itself from the exterior to the interior mimicked actual police," Pazen said.

He was arrested on investigation of felony impersonating a police officer.

This isn’t the first time Montoya has been accused of playing cop.

He was ticketed in 2009 by a Colorado state trooper for driving with illegal emergency lights and having expired license plates in Adams County. He pleaded guilty to having expired plates and the district attorney dismissed the illegal emergency lights charge, court records state.