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News and Investigations
News & Investigations
News Releases and Public Information
Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.
PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Carrie Horstman, Brian Bruchey, and Julianna Rivera. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.
The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.
Jun 10, 2026
Winter Haven man arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer
Media Contact: Brian Bruchey
Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested a man who admitted to using red and blue lights to move people out of his way on the road.
The man was taken into custody Wednesday night, June 9, 2026, in Wahneta after his most recent illegal use of the lights.
A caller to the PCSO's Emergency Communications Center reported the suspicious Chevy truck at around 10:27pm, saying that the driver of the truck flashed red and blue lights at him and pulled him over. Once the victim's vehicle stopped, the Chevy truck left the scene.
A responding deputy located the Chevy truck on Bomber Road and conducted a traffic stop of his own.
The driver was identified as 20-year-old Misael Guerrero-Ramirez.
The truck was equipped with red and blue LED lights on the front windshield. Guerrero-Ramirez confessed to the deputy that he uses the lights on other drivers who brake-check him; the lights get the other drivers to move out of his way.
Misael Guerrero-Ramirez was arrested and taken to the Sheriff's Processing Center and charged with Impersonation of a Law Enforcement Officer (F3).