Man wearing pig mask and toy helmet arrested on suspicion of impersonating a police officer

A man who dressed up in a pig mask, toy policeman's helmet and hi-vis jacket was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a police officer. Steven Peers said he has often donned the mock outfit to perform ‘comical parodies’ of Greater Manchester Police after becoming unhappy with how officers behaved during the Barton Moss anti-fracking protests.



He wore it around Manchester city centre while filming sketches on Thursday but was stopped by an officer near Bootle Street police station. Video of the incident shows the policeman pose questions about the outfit before arresting Mr Peers, 46, on suspicion of impersonating a police officer. Father-of-four Mr Peers was held in custody for eight hours before being bailed until July – while the outfit was confiscated.

He said: “My reaction to being arrested was total disbelief. I was wearing a toy hat and a pig mask and was arrested for impersonating a police officer. It’s ridiculous. If they want to take it to court they will be a laughing stock because there is no substance to it whatsoever.” Mr Peers, an electrical engineer, said he began performing skits using his comic character ‘Officer 666’ to highlight the ‘violence, corruption and bad behaviour’ which he believes has been carried out by GMP.


YouTube link.

He said: “I don’t think it’s antagonistic. It’s just a parody making fun of GMP. I’ve dressed like this at Barton Moss, in front of Swinton police station and in front of the force HQ in Newton Heath. Other officers have laughed it off.” A GMP spokesman said: “At about 4pm on Thursday 22 May 2014, a man was arrested in Manchester city centre on suspicion of impersonating a police officer. He was released on bail until 17 July 2014 pending further inquiries.”