Man arrested, accused of impersonating a police officer in White County
SEARCY, Ark. (KAIT) - A Central Arkansas man faces criminal impersonation and false imprisonment charges after authorities say he pulled over a 15-year-old girl earlier this week.
According to a post on the White County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Jeremy D. Kurck, 39, of Jacksonville was arrested April 8 after an investigation by deputies.
Deputies spoke to the 15-year-old girl and her mother on April 8 about the incident.
The girl told deputies that she was traveling on Highway 36 West, near the Valley Baptist Church, when she was pulled over by a man, claiming to be a Kensett police officer, in a black car with emergency lights in the window.
“The juvenile said the man unlawfully searched her vehicle after she questioned him if he was supposed to ask if he could search it. The juvenile said the man responded by telling her “I do what I want so get out of the [explicit] car,” White County deputies said in the Facebook post.
The girl also told deputies that as she got out of the car, the man pushed her and started searching the car.
“Once he was done searching, she said the man accused her of being drunk and administered her a “breathalyzer test”. She stated that he refused to give back her driver’s license and then left to go pull over another vehicle in the same area,” deputies said in the post. “When asked about the description of the car, the juvenile said that the vehicle read ‘Kensett Police’ on the side of the car but it didn’t look professional.”
The girl gave deputies a description of the man.
Deputies also contacted Kensett police, who said they did not have anyone matching the description of the man described by the girl or used a vehicle similar to what was described.
However, deputies got help from Jacksonville police and the juvenile, who identified Kurck as a suspect.
“The juvenile positively identified Kurck as the man who conducted the traffic stop and took her driver’s license. A quick check of Mr. Kurck’s criminal history revealed a previous history of posing as a police officer and was arrested in Lonoke County in 2019 for the same offense,” the post noted.
Police later searched Kurck’s home and found law enforcement badges and duty equipment.
Kurck, who will be arraigned June 2 in White County Circuit Court, was arrested on suspicion of criminal impersonation, false imprisonment-2nd degree, and theft of property.
Authorities are also asking anyone who may have had contact with Kurck to call the White County Sheriff’s Department at 501-279-6279 or the White County Dispatch Center at 501-279-6241.
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