Venice Man Charged with Impersonating a Police Officer

NEWS RELEASE 17-180 - JULY 24, 2017

Walma, Curtis

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Venice man on charges of Impersonating a Police Officer and Criminal Mischief after he got into a road rage incident and told the victims he was a law enforcement officer.

Deputies were called to the area of Bellagio Blvd. and S.R. 776 in Venice, on Saturday just before 4:00 p.m., for reports of a road rage incident. According to the victims, they first noticed the suspect as they were traveling south on Jacaranda Blvd. The suspect, later identified as Curtis Walma, DOB 12/04/61, drove recklessly alongside the victims’ vehicle, eventually cutting them off and blocking the entrance to their neighborhood. As both vehicles came to a stop, Walma signaled for the victims to get out of the car while advising he was a police officer and was carrying a weapon in his car. Walma got back into his vehicle, activated emergency lights from his dashboard and fled the area. Before fleeing, Walma threw an unknown object at the victims’ vehicle causing damage to the rear driver’s side door. Using vehicle tag information, detectives identified Walma as the suspect and confirmed his identity with the victims using a photo lineup.

Walma was arrested Saturday night and released Sunday morning on $1,620 bond.