San Rafael, CA - On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, SRPD Officers arrested Matthew Bennett Connolly, a 25-year-old Richmond resident, for impersonating a police officer while driving in a vehicle modified to resemble a police car. 

At 10:40 AM, Officers on patrol in the area of Bellam Boulevard and the Interstate 580 overpass in San Rafael observed what they thought was an older model California Highway Patrol Chevrolet Camaro police car that had been used by the agency nearly a decade ago. 

At first, the officer thought it was an actual CHP car and waved toward the driver. While waving, they noticed the driver was not wearing a uniform and did not appear to be a CHP officer.

Officers became suspicious and made a U-turn to inspect the vehicle further. They noticed that even though the CHP decals on the doors looked official, the vehicle did not have the proper license plates and was not registered with the state law enforcement agency.  The officers made a traffic stop of the vehicle, believing it was a person impersonating a police officer and illegally driving a vehicle falsely marked as a police car.

During the investigation, the driver admitted to placing decals on the car and acknowledged that the public would believe it was a police car.  He stated the vehicle was for a car show.  However, officers determined it had not been used in a car show since it had recently been removed from an impound yard for expired registration.

SRPD contacted the CHP and advised them of the incident. SRPD officers also investigated whether there had been recent reports of the person or vehicle being involved in false impersonation cases.

Connolly was arrested for falsely impersonating a police officer and booked into the Marin County Jail.  The vehicle was also impounded.

Officers continue to investigate and work with the California Highway Patrol as well as other Marin County law enforcement agencies to determine if there have been any other incidents involving the vehicle or Connolly.