Fraser

Drunken driver tried to pull over officer

By Heidi Roman
C & G Staff Writer

FRASER — A Clinton Township man admittedly may have made the biggest mistake of his life when he tried to pull over a Fraser Public Safety officer while pretending to be an officer himself. As if that weren’t bad enough, he was allegedly drunk when he did so.

A Fraser officer was driving her unmarked city-issued vehicle in the Richards Middle School parking lot at 11:40 p.m. Sept. 3 when a vehicle behind her began flashing its bright lights in her direction, reports said. The suspect, later identified as David Darrell Dabbs, 40, pulled up next to her in a Mercury Mountaineer and identified himself as an off-duty police officer — not realizing that he was speaking to a legitimate officer.

“He then asked her where she was going,” said Detective Lt. Dan Kolke. “The officer asked to see his police identification, which he could not provide.”

The suspect again asked her where she was going, but the officer had radioed for additional patrol officers to come to the scene. She identified herself as an officer to the suspect, who reportedly said, “I just made the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Dabbs was not a police officer and never was,” Kolke said. Dabbs was also allegedly drunk, registering a 0.20 blood-alcohol content on a chemical test, police said.

Dabbs was arrested and charged with his third offense of operating while intoxicated, a five-year felony; impersonating a police officer, a one-year misdemeanor; and having an open alcohol container in a vehicle, a 90-day misdemeanor. 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Heidi Roman at hroman@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5006.