They just couldn’t take being the butt of the joke.
A Florida sheriff’s office is being mocked online after a deputy ticketed a driver accused of “impersonating law enforcement” over his humorous “Booty Patrol” truck that resembles a Border Patrol vehicle.
The deputy with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office pulled over the white Chevy Silverado pickup on Sunday and issued the driver, Gabriel Luviano, of Bradenton, a $113 citation for adding red and blue lights to his ride.
Luviano’s truck features a green diagonal stripe, an official-looking federal emblem and red and blue flashing lights on its dashboard — making it easy to mistake for a US Border Patrol vehicle if not for the word “BOOTY PATROL” written in large capital letters and “National Booty Behavior Protection” plastered on the side.
The sheriff’s office accused Luviano of “impersonating law enforcement” and posted several images of the vehicle on Facebook to “raise awareness” among community members.
It asked anyone who has been pulled over by the “suspicious vehicle” to reach out to the office and added that residents’ cooperation “is crucial… to ensuring the safety of our community.”
Luviano, 18, chose to add “Booty Patrol” to his truck because “it’s the closest you could get to Border Patrol and still have the B in it,” he told NBC 2, but said that it was never his intention to impersonate federal agents.
“It was just to have a little fun, you know?” he said of his idea with the mirroring decals. “It was never my intent to pull over people or nothing.”
The Florida teen said he has never pulled anyone over nor does he have any plans to.
He also said most cops get a laugh at his play on words — but the Desoto County deputy who pulled him over was not one of those officers.
“I have videos of cops coming up to me and they just want a picture,” Luviano told the local station.
The deputy instead slapped him with a fine of $113 for displaying red and blue lights on his rim in violation of Florida law, the station reported.
But Luviano claims he never turns on the lights while out driving and only uses them while parked and on private property.
Many on social media seemed to take the side of the “Booty Patrol” driver.
“Is this serious? If anyone thinks this is a real officer they have a problem. I have seen this drive around all the time and I always get such a chuckle out of it,” one Floridian wrote in the sheriff’s comments. “Leave the man alone.”
Another commenter said the truck is just a show car and that the sheriff’s crackdown left him saddened.
“It’s a little sad to see this happening to the car community,” he wrote. “This is just merely a show truck. Always has been. Never seen him have his blue lights on and seen him all over Desoto, Manatee, and Sarasota county.”
Luviano isn’t the first to take inspiration from law enforcement vehicles and make a joke.
Since 2021, Californian Jacob McGennis has hacked his Ford F-150 Raptor to similarly look like a Border Patrol vehicle but instead opted for “THOT PATROL” as his fake agency of choice.
McGennis has earned thousands of followers on Instagram where he frequently posts photos and videos of his truck — including officers cracking up at his play on words.
