A Ruston reserve police officer was arrested Wednesday after an alleged confrontation with a motorist.
Peter Thorson, 50, was booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center on charges of false imprisonment and malfeasance in office according to a Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Department press release. Bail was set at $20,000.
On May 7, the sheriff’s department began investigating after a citizen reported being pulled over by an unmarked vehicle with no emergency lights. The complainant stated he was traveling south on U.S. 167 in Vienna when he noticed the vehicle behind him following very closely. The vehicle followed him into the parking lot of a local business and parked behind him in a manner consistent with law enforcement tactics. A man wearing a “POLICE” ball cap approached the complainant’s vehicle and ordered him to exit. The complainant stated the man returned to his vehicle and put on a gun belt. The driver exited his vehicle and attempted to enter the business, but the doors were locked. He was approached by the man who identified himself as an officer. After an approximate 4-minute interaction, the driver was released, and the officer left the scene.
Surveillance footage of the incident was obtained and reviewed by detectives. With the assistance of the Ruston Police Department, Thorson was identified and confirmed to be a reserve police officer with the City of Ruston.
The incident location is just outside the Ruston city limits.
Thorson was questioned by detectives on Wednesday morning and subsequently arrested. A statement from the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Department noted the actions taken by Thorson during the encounter “do not reflect the values and spirit of the men and women of the Ruston Police Department or the sheriff’s department.”
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
