Man who modified Maserati to resemble 'Transformers' Decepticon charged with impersonating police

Officers in America did not seem to understand the film reference

A Maserati resembling a police cruiser sits parked along the shore in Quincy, Mass (AP)

A driver who modified his Maserati to resemble a Decepticon from the Transformers films is being prosecuted for “impersonating police” in America.

It is unclear whether officers in Braintree, Massachusetts, understood the meaning of the car’s decoration.

The luxury Italian vehicle was painted black and white, with police-style identity numbers and “speed enforcement” written on the rear bumper.

But instead of the slogan “protect and serve”, “Decepticons punish and enslave” is emblazoned on the white car door.

It appears to resemble a Decepticon called Barricade, who appears in the 2007 Transformers film with a team of evil transformers trying to take over the world and build an army of machines.

In the Transformers comic book series, Decepticons are the enemies of Autobots – robot aliens who protect humanity.

They transform into everyday vehicles to conceal themselves on Earth, such as the police car.

A patrolling officer pulled the Maserati over earlier this month when he noticed its unusual markings.

Deputy police chief Wayne Foster told The Patriot Ledger that the driver told officers he was actually assisting police “because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle”.

The officer who flagged the car down reportedly mistook it for a police car at first, before realising that local forces used Fords or Chryslers, not £60,000 Maseratis.

The driver, who has not been named, was charged with impersonating a police officer and summoned to Quincy District Court.