WEST SEATTLE, Wash. — A 47-year-old man was arrested Saturday morning for impersonating a Seattle City Light (SCL) worker while also trying to steal copper wire.
According to an SPD Blotter post, the man was first spotted by an officer on DUI patrol standing on the West Seattle Bridge around 1:16 a.m. June 27.
The officer, thinking the man was trying to kill himself, drove closer to the individual, and realized the man “rolling up what appeared to be wire,” according to the post.
Upon approaching the man, the officer found the man carrying “several spools of copper.”
When asked what he was doing, the man, posing as a SCL employee, claimed he had been working with Seattle City Light for “about two months” and was repairing bridge lights.
The officer then asked for identification, which the man could not provide.
After investigating, it was found the man was cutting and stealing wire from the bridge’s lights, according to the blog post.
The man was arrested and transported to Southwest Precinct, where he was placed in a holding cell.
In the cell, he continued to tell officers he was a SCL employee, according to the post.
Officers say the man had “heavy duty wire cutters, a flashlight, a screwdriver, and other hand tools” on him, as well as methamphetamine and an “illegal fixed blade throwing knife.”
Later in the day, Seattle City Light confirmed no one was working on the bridge the morning of June 27.
The 47-year-old impersonator was booked into King County Jail for investigation of criminal impersonation, theft, malicious mischief, and carrying a dangerous weapon, according to the SPD Blotter.
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