Man police say impersonated cop pleads guilty to lesser charge

A Baton Rouge man who authorities say pretended to be a policeman while assisting a driver with a flat tire in Destrehan was sentenced to 75 days in prison after he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of disturbing the peace.

James Abram, of 2100 College Drive, was originally booked with impersonating a public official, carrying illegal weapons and the illegal tint of a window.

According to the arrest report, Abram attracted the attention of a passing deputy by having blue lights activated in his vehicle while he was pulled off the roadway. Abram, who was dressed in a dark blue uniform and was wearing combat boots, was helping a woman fix a flat tire, court documents say.

The woman told the deputy that she believed Abram was a policeman even though he never identified himself as one.

When the deputy ran Abram’s information, he said he discovered that Abram had previous arrests for illegal possession of weapons, armed robbery and impersonating a police officer. The deputy said that Abram also had a military issue knife in his possession and had numerous police lights on his front, side and back windows.

According to the arresting deputy, the vehicle Abram was driving also had working police sirens, a PA mic and white flex handcuffs were hanging from the rearview mirror. However, Abram did work for a company that installed police lights.