Men Arrested Using iPhone App To Impersonate Police Officers

An iPhone app gets two men in trouble with the law, after police think they were trying to impersonate an officer.

The two men were arrested, after undercover cops noticed flashing lights coming from the Red Crown Victoria they were driving in.

"I didn't know his phone was there," said 33-year-old Joshua Sossamon, who was one of the two men arrested. Sossamon says he is still stunned by the events of last night.

He says they were just driving down the highway, when they got pulled over by police near SE 59th and I-35. The police report states undercover officers noticed flashing lights coming from the front dash of Sossamon's Red crown Victoria, and claim it appeared they were trying to pull over someone on a motorcycle.

"We were not trying to pull anyone over," asserted Sossamon. "That is a complete falsehood."

Both Sossamon and 28-year-old Michael Railly were taken into custody during that traffic stop. And police did indeed find an iPhone on the dashboard flashing a red and blue light.

Police arrested Sossamon for public drunk, and Railly for DUI, impersonating a police officer, and assaulting a police officer. Police say Railly kicked one of their officers during the arrest. They also accuse him of speeding and driving without a license. Sossamon says he did not notice the flashing I-phone on the dashboard until after they were stopped.

"It was not flashing red and blue, it was flashing red blue and yellow," said Sossamon.

Sossamon says Railley works construction, and often used the light feature on his job. But police say that's not an excuse.

"Whether there's some yellow in there or not, it's still red and blue lights giving the appearance of a police officer," said Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow with the Oklahoma City Police Department. "And that's against the law."

Wardlow says the only people who are allowed to have red and blue flashing lights on the front of their cars are emergency crews like police and wrecker crews, work crews, or construction crews doing their jobs. So if you have this app on your phone, don't use it in your car for fun.

Michael Reilly remains in jail on $16,000 bond.