Va. man says 8-hour course gave him authority to arrest, so he was arrested

CHANTILLY, VA (WUSA9) -- A man who arrested a driver—whom he got in a crash with—is facing charges for impersonating a police officer. He told officers he took a criminal justice course, so he had the authority to arrest people.

Fairfax County Police said a real officer arrived on the scene of a crash at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at Lee Jackson Memorial Highway and Elmwood Street in Chantilly.

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The officer immediately noticed one of the drivers was in handcuffs and appeared to be under arrest. Arta Javanbakhtamarlouei told police he felt threatened by the way the driver was acting, so he put the handcuffs on the driver.

But Javanbakhtamarlouei had more than handcuffs on him.

He was wearing a belt that had pouches, pepper spray and a holster with a firearm that appeared to be real. Javanbakhtamarlouei told police be bought everything online and the firearm actually was a BB gun, police said.

Inside his wallet, he had two badges—a concealed weapon badge he bought online and a private investigator badge he allegedly got from a previous security office job. He hasn’t held that job for at least four years, police said.

Javanbakhtamarlouei also told police he took an eight-hour criminal justice course and had the authority to place people under arrest.

Officers arrested Javanbakhtamarlouei, 33 of Centreville. He’s facing charges for impersonating a law enforcement officer.

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Fairfax County Police offered the following tips to help people verify a police officer:

• Ask for the officer’s credentials, to verify they are who they stated they were.
• Officers should always introduce themselves and advise who they work for.
• Observe their uniform patches and verify it is the agency they told you.
• Be familiar with the police cruiser markings in your jurisdiction to assist you in identifying their authenticity.
• If you ever feel uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to call 9-1-1 to verify the identity of officer you are dealing with. Dispatchers will be able to confirm this information over the phone and use GPS coordinates to verify an actual officer’s status.