This may be a clear case of "police-enza."
Fred Couch, the father of Ethan Couch, the Texas teen who made national news after his attorneys argued an "affluenza" defense for a drunken-driving accident that killed four people and seriously injured two, has been arrested for impersonating a police officer, the Dallas News reports.
According to the Dallas News, the North Richland Hills Police Department arrested Fred Couch early Wednesday morning "on a warrant for falsely identifying himself as a police officer."
The Couches rose to national infamy after Ethan Couch was arrested and charged with killing four people who were trying to fix a flat tire on the side of a road. Couch would plead guilty to manslaughter charges and would be sentenced to 10 years' probation after his lawyers successfully argued that Couch suffered from "affluenza," a supposed affliction suffered by those so rich that they had experienced little to no consequences for their mistakes. Ethan Couch would be sentenced to what many argued was a summer camp, complete with horseback riding and therapeutic massage, as a part of his plea agreement, with his parents footing the bill.
Fred Couch's incident reportedly occurred early July 28 after police were dispatched to the small town of Lakeside on a disturbance call. According to a police report viewed by the Dallas News, when police arrived, they encountered Couch already on the scene identifying himself as a Lakeside Police Department reserve officer. Once police were finished with the disturbance call, they again asked Couch who he was, and he again identified himself as an officer and told them he had his "police stuff" in the car, the Dallas News reports.
Couch then took out his wallet and showed the officers "what appeared to be a police badge and identification card, suggesting he was a police officer," says the release, viewed by the Dallas News. Couch was free to go, but the officers looked into Couch and found that he was not a police officer and never has been.
The North Richland Hills Police Department issued a warrant for Couch's arrest and he was charged with "false identification as a police officer: misrepresentation of property," according to the Dallas News.
Couch was released on $2,500 bond.
Also on The Root: “If This Rich Kid Has ‘Affluenza,’ Then We've All Got ‘Negrobetes’”
Read more at the Dallas News.