Parker County deputies arrest man who used red-and-blue lights to scare off armed driver

The Parker County Grand Jury indicted an Azle-area man on charges of impersonating a public servant during an incident on the night of Feb. 18.

The Parker County Sheriff’s Office arrest report states that Luciano Amador Velazquez intended to “induce (the driver of a Ford F-150) to submit to the pretended official authority of the defendant or to rely on the pretended official acts of the defendant by displaying and operating forward facing red and blue alternating lights mounted in his front windshield, against the laws of the State of Texas.”

Officers said in the report that Amador had told them that he flashed the lights because he didn’t agree with the F-150 driver’s driving and that he used the lights to “make people drive better.”

Amador told the Epigraph the only reason he flashed the red-and-blue lights was because he saw the other driver pull out a gun. He said he has never tried to pass himself off as a police officer.

The F-150 driver, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation, said he pulled his pistol out later in his interaction with Amador but denied having his gun out at this time.

Amador said he was driving home on State Highway 199 when he noticed the F-150 driver was following him. Amador turned onto Newsom Mound Road and saw that the truck was still following him, so he pulled over and let the other driver pass him.

Amador said the driver passed him and was driving in front of him slowly, to which he responded by turning on his bright lights. That’s when Amador said he saw the F-150 driver showing him a gun and responded by flashing the red-and-blue lights.

Amador said he mainly uses the red-and-blue lights as a safety precaution in his construction work, though he said he used them once before in response to a motorist driving the wrong way on a road.

Inside the F-150, the driver threatened or insinuated violence to Amador several times, according to dash camera footage that the driver submitted to the Epigraph. Against the wishes of his family inside the vehicle, the driver refused to let Amador pass and continued to follow him. He justified his actions by saying that he was protecting other drivers from Amador.

Amador said he sped off down Sabathney Road to lose the other driver, but the F-150 driver pursued him to Ice House Road where the conflict came to a head. Amador said he saw that the other driver flashed the gun again, this time pointing it at him.

“The second time that he pointed the gun at me, I got really scared,” Amador said. “I didn't know what was going on with him.”

According to the dash camera footage submitted to the Epigraph, the F-150 driver yelled, “I will put you through the windshield. I will (expletive) shoot you.”

Parker County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived on the scene and arrested Amador for flashing the red-and-blue lights. The F-150 driver with the alleged gun was not arrested.

When Amador asked the reason for his arrest, he said he was told that he was using the lights like a police officer to pull the other driver over.

“I said, ‘I know I'm not a cop, but he pulled on a gun on me. I thought he was going to get scared, and that was the only reason I turned those lights on,’” Amador said, referring to his conversation with the PCSO officers.

Amador has hired attorney Russell King, who said he is certain that Amador wasn’t trying to impersonate a peace officer.

“If they choose to file a charge against him, I'm confident that a jury will acquit him of the charge against him,” King said. “And maybe then they'll answer the question of why they would arrest my client but not arrest somebody that pointed a gun at him at least twice.”

Impersonating a public servant is a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain said.

Amador’s case was assigned to the 43rd District Court with Judge Craig Towson presiding, and the arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 19.