Wayne Peter Church received an 18-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to impersonating a police officer by rigging his pickup with emergency lights.
The Story
A North Vancouver man who impersonated an RCMP officer and pulled over drivers received an 18-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to a charge involving fake emergency lights. Wayne Peter Church, 59, faced two charges tied to allegations that he falsely represented himself as a peace officer between January 1 and March 1 of last year.
Court heard that Church pleaded guilty in North Vancouver provincial court to the latter charge connected to impersonating a police officer by outfitting his Ford F-150 pickup with emergency lights. Judge Joseph Galati accepted a joint sentencing submission from Crown and defence counsel that would place Church on conditional discharge, with the judge noting Church had taken rehabilitative steps since the offence.
At sentencing, Crown prosecutor Kenny Wu said police were alerted to the matter through a 911 call made by Church himself on March 1, 2025. Wu told the court that the call involved an erratic driver speeding up “The Cut” on Highway 1 in North Vancouver.
Wu told the court that, at the time of the alleged impersonation, a white Tesla was driving on the shoulder and trying to pass Church. Court heard Church motioned for the Tesla driver to pull over, then provided verbal directions to follow the rules of the road and to slow down.
The court heard that the Tesla driver provided a driver’s licence to Church, who was wearing a high visibility vest and driving a vehicle with flashing lights. Wu said that after the RCMP went public with a news release in mid-March, two additional victims came forward.
Court heard that one additional incident involved a woman pulled over in January who received a verbal warning after being told she was “not driving well.” Wu also told the court that a search warrant for Church’s dashcam identified a third victim who had been stopped on the Trans Canada Highway on Feb. 19 and given a verbal warning for speeding.
Crown counsel said the vehicle was rigged with flashing red and white lights and that the victims believed they were dealing with a police officer. Wu told the court the conduct had the potential to cause significant fear in the community and undermine trust in people asserting lawful police authority.
Defence counsel Jonathan Israels said Church works full-time as a general contractor for a renovation company and described him as remorseful and apologetic. Israels also told the court Church had been an active volunteer most of his life, including work as a lifeguard and with the army and Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue.
Church addressed the court and apologized to the victims, saying he recognized the conduct was unlawful and undermined public trust. He told the court, “I recognize it was not only unlawful but undermined the public trust,” and “I should have done better,” according to the court record.
To avoid a criminal record, the court heard Church must complete the conditions of his probation, including 15 hours of community service and a prohibition on possessing after-market vehicle lights used by law enforcement. The conditional discharge reflects how the court weighed the offending and Church’s subsequent steps before sentencing.
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