Women 'lucky' real police showed up when armed man posed as officer

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. — A woman thought a police officer came to her aid when her car broke down over the weekend, but it wasn't until an actual police officer rolled up to the scene that she realized something was wrong.

Kevin Lessard, of Dracut, was arrested shortly afterward when police officer realized he was pretending to be one.

Lessard pulled up behind the Florence Boateng’s disabled car on Pawtucket Boulevard Saturday, according to police.

She said he turned flashing lights on in the back of his red Crown Victoria and told her he would wait with her until a tow truck showed up.

He didn't have a badge or uniform, but he did have an unlicensed gun and a police-style baton.

“He was kind of uneasy, going in and out of his car,” Boateng told FOX25.

She said he never told her he was a police office, but she just assumed he was.

"When this man came, he said he’s going to help us. 'Oh, he might be an off duty cop. He just wants to help us,'” Boateng said.

But when Tyngsborough police showed up, they immediately knew something was off. They questioned Lessard and found an unlicensed gun, a baton and bullets on him.

"[It] was very scary. We're just lucky that somebody happened to be passing by," Boateng’s daughter, Fatima Thollie, said.

She was also in the car at the time.

Both women said they're just so thankful the police showed up when they did.

Lessard appeared in court Monday, charged with impersonating a police officer, carrying an unregistered firearm without a license, and other felony weapons violations.

Cox Media Group