Retired Police Sergeant Christopher Curtis says impersonating a police officer is always a bad idea, but pretending to be a federal agent is even worse because the truth usually catches up fast.
On his YouTube channel Sergeant Curtis, Curtis reviewed bodycam footage of a man accused of driving a pickup truck with emergency lights and sirens while claiming to be a U.S. Marshal. The encounter began when a deputy saw an unmarked black truck moving through an intersection with lights and sirens activated.
Curtis said that kind of thing will always get law enforcement’s attention.
“Impersonating a police officer is always a horrible idea,” Curtis said. “Impersonating a federal agent is an even worse idea.”
The man was later identified by Curtis as Derry Wayne Lambert, who, according to Curtis, ultimately pleaded guilty to false impersonation of a federal officer.
A Truck With Lights And Sirens Raised Suspicion
Curtis said the deputy appeared to be fueling up his vehicle when he noticed the truck using lights and sirens through an intersection.
The vehicle was not marked, and Curtis said that would stand out to any officer.
Even in a large jurisdiction, Curtis explained, officers usually know when an unmarked law enforcement vehicle is running emergency traffic. If there is no radio traffic explaining it, another officer may check with dispatch to ask why an unmarked unit is moving that way.
In the footage, the deputy stopped the truck and approached cautiously.
“Let me see your other hand for me,” the deputy said.
Curtis praised that moment, saying the deputy could not see one of the driver’s hands clearly and took a safer position before continuing. He said keeping eyes on a driver’s hands is basic but important police work.
The deputy then asked where the driver was headed and requested a driver’s license.
The driver told him he was a Marshal.
The Badge Was Not Enough
The driver showed a badge, but Curtis said a badge alone does not prove someone is law enforcement.
Curtis paused on that point because it became one of the major problems in the stop. The man did not have proper credentials with him, and the vehicle came back as registered to a private citizen.
“Carrying a badge without credentials is meaningless,” Curtis said.
Curtis explained that even retired officers who carry under federal law need credentials, not just a badge. Active officers also carry identification showing who they are and what agency they belong to.
The deputy told the man he needed a way to verify that he was a U.S. Marshal. The man claimed his credentials were in another vehicle.
That answer did not help.
Curtis said the story already had several red flags. The truck was privately registered. It had lights and sirens installed. The man said he was responding to a vague call about gang members on four-wheelers, which Curtis said sounded more like a local police matter than something the U.S. Marshals Service would normally handle.
The Story Kept Changing
As more officers arrived, the man gave more details that raised questions.
He claimed he worked out of Dallas but was in Florida because his mother was at Moffitt Cancer Center. He said he was responding to Marion Oaks because two gang members were riding a four-wheeler with a pole and breaking into houses.
When someone on the phone asked what district he worked out of, he said Dallas.
Curtis said that appeared to be an “authenticity check,” meaning a question that someone truly connected to an agency should be able to answer in a specific way.
According to Curtis, the man failed that check.
The driver later said he had two partners in the area named Jim Wilson and John Terra, though he struggled with details. He also claimed he had been in the Rangers and had worked with the Marshals.
Curtis said the man was doing the opposite of helping himself.
“There’s a saying,” Curtis said. “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”
A Real Marshal Entered The Conversation
The most damaging moment came when a real Marshal became involved in the encounter.
In the footage, the real Marshal told the man directly that he knew he was not a U.S. Marshal.
“I know you’re not a U.S. Marshal,” the real Marshal said. “I’m a U.S. Marshal. There’s only three of us in this town. You are not one of the other two.”
Curtis said that moment showed why impersonating a federal agent is so risky. Federal agencies are not so large in local areas that someone can easily fake being part of them without getting checked.
The real Marshal asked basic questions about the man’s district, supervisor, and duties. The answers did not hold together.
The man claimed he worked on raids and was part of a task force. But when asked for his supervisor’s name and phone number, he could not provide solid information.
Curtis said nothing about the explanation made sense.
This is where the act seemed to collapse. A fake badge might fool a civilian from a distance, and emergency lights might scare traffic out of the way for a few moments. But once a real officer starts asking agency-specific questions, the story has to survive details. This one did not.
Curtis Explains Plainclothes, Undercover, And Real Credentials
Curtis used the video to explain the difference between uniformed officers, plainclothes officers, and undercover officers.
He said people often confuse plainclothes detectives with undercover officers, but they are not the same.
A plainclothes investigator may carry a badge and identify as law enforcement. A true undercover officer usually does not carry a badge, does not admit being law enforcement during a stop, and has a full cover identity that can survive checks.
Curtis said a real undercover federal agent would not be flashing a badge during a traffic stop in a personally registered truck with questionable lights.
That explanation is useful because many people think “unmarked” means “undercover.” It does not. Unmarked police vehicles can still be official vehicles, and officers still carry real credentials. In this case, the problem was not merely that the truck was unmarked. It was that the man’s whole explanation did not match the way law enforcement normally works.
The Arrest And The Charges
The man was eventually handcuffed and arrested for impersonating a police officer.
Even after being told he was under arrest, he continued to claim he was a U.S. Marshal. He also said he knew judges and local officials, including the sheriff, though the names and titles appeared to shift during the encounter.
Curtis noted that the man’s speech and behavior suggested possible impairment, though the man denied being drunk or using drugs and said he had been awake for days because of his mother’s medical situation.
Later in the video, officers told him he was facing several charges, including impersonating a police officer, unauthorized blue lights, use of blue lights, possession of a law enforcement badge, and other issues connected to a firearm and pills found during the process.
Curtis then said he looked up what happened afterward.
According to Curtis, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Derry Wayne Lambert, who was 52 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to false impersonation of a federal officer. Curtis said Lambert faced a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison.
The Deputy Did Not Look Away
Curtis also praised the deputy who first noticed the truck.
He said the deputy was fueling up and apparently close to the end of his shift, but still acted when something looked wrong. Curtis said officers sometimes “put the blinders on” when they are near the end of a shift, hoping nothing interrupts their path back to the station.
That did not happen here.
“This officer is displaying the highest level of what professional policing is,” Curtis said.
He said the deputy followed the case from the first suspicious sighting through the investigation, brought in the right people, and helped build a serious case.
That part of the story may be easy to miss, but it matters. If the deputy had ignored the truck, the driver might have continued using lights and sirens, possibly putting others in danger or convincing someone he had real authority.
Instead, one officer noticed something odd and followed it.
The case ended with the fake Marshal story falling apart in front of an actual Marshal, which is about as direct as these cases can get.
Curtis said he still did not know exactly why Lambert did it, but his larger message was clear: pretending to be law enforcement is not a harmless act, and pretending to be a federal agent can quickly become a federal case.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
