An odd, odd holiday traffic stop

AUSTIN, Min. – A couple was pulling into a Culver’s ice cream shop about 4 the afternoon when a car with flashing red lights pulled up behind them. “In Minnesota, we drive 30 miles per hour,” the officer told the couple, whose car had out-of-state plates. The driver admitted to 35 mph. But things didn’t seem right to the couple. Why was the officer in a red Mustang, not a black-and-white squad car. He said it was his “detective vehicle.” But why was a detective making a traffic stop? And why on a Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend? And why did the cop keep smirking through the whole encounter? And what about the logo “NAPD” on his cap and white shirt: This was Austin. What jurisdiction was “NA”? No ticket was issued. And the guy had flashed his badge too quickly to make out. After the officer in the Mustang departed, the out-of-state couple was sure they had been played the fool. But why? They called the real police to report they suspected someone was impersonating a peace officer. Police looked at a Culver’s surveillance video and identified the red Mustang as belonging to a local man, Wade Joseph Novak, 58. Police — the real police — located the Mustang and found a look-alike police badge, a dash camera, two strobe lights, and emergency flashing lights on the front and back of the vehicle. What about “NAPD”? Police said Novak once had created an organization he called “Never Alone Public Defenders” and bought related paraphernalia. Novak will have an opportunity to explain all this to a judge next week.