COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- Authorities arrested a 17-year-old for allegedly impersonating a police officer on the Fourth of July.
According to Cobb County Police, Samuel David Mallard was taken into custody and charged with impersonating an officer.
It happened July 4, when officers said there was a group of people in Austell Park shooting fireworks. Austell Police officers responded to the area, telling them to move down the street because they could not shoot fireworks in the park. Officers left but came back after noticing the group didn't move.
According to Cobb County authorities, Austell Police was getting ready to cite the group for the violation. That's when the group told police that a Cobb County Police officer had stopped by and told them they were allowed to stay.
They showed officers a video they took of the person, later identified as Mallard. In it, the person identified himself as a sergeant. The person was also wearing a fluorescent rain jacket with "Cobb Police" in black lettering on the back. According to the arrest warrant, Mallard had a gun on his hip in a holster.
After, Austell Police contacted Cobb County authorities. It was then they discovered the person in the video was not one of Cobb's officers.
Investigators were able to identify Mallard as the impersonator. It was allegedly not his first time being arrested for impersonating a police officer. He was taken into custody at his home and charged with the crime.
A judge set his bond at $3,000.
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