A WOMAN falsely claimed she was a police officer following a near-miss on a Deeside street.

Former soldier Tryphaena Jackomis, 47, now working as an end-of-life carer, told another driver that the road was a 20 mph speed limit – and she knew it was because she was an off-duty police officer.

But the taxi driver coming the other way was married to a police officer and was immediately suspicious.

A court heard how she challenged the defendant and asked for her number and station.

Jackomis said she would pull up and provide them – but drove away.

At Flintshire Magistrates’ Court at Mold, Jackomis, a single mother of two of Dodd’s Drive in Connah’s Quay, admitted impersonating a police officer at Howard Street, Connah’s Quay, on July 5 last year.

Magistrates, who described it as the lower end of seriousness for a charge of its type, gave her a conditional discharge with £75 costs and a £20 surcharge.

Prosecutor John Wylde said the charge of impersonating a police officer covered “a multitude of sins” and he said it was conceded that the present case was at the bottom end of the scale.

The complainant was a taxi driver who worked for a company which had a contract with the education department to transport children with learning difficulties to school.

It was a residential street subject to a 30mph restriction – but with parked cars it was essentially reduced to a single carriageway.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendant failed to give way at a junction, came out of a side road and both had to brake hard.

There was no collision and they came to a halt very close to each other.

It was alleged the defendant shouted at the other driver “it’s 20 mph here.”

The taxi driver said she was not going anywhere near that speed – but that it was a 30mph area.

Jackomis replied: “No, it’s not. It is a 20mph limit here. I know this because I’m an off-duty police officer.”

The taxi driver was married to a police officer, she did not believe the defendant and was immediately suspicious.

She challenged her and said she wanted her collar number and the police station at which she worked.

The defendant said she would give them and pull up down the road – but drove off.

“That is the extent of the charge of impersonating a police officer,” Mr Wylde said.

Jackomis, who had no previous convictions, was said by her solicitor Fiona Larkin to have little or no memory of the incident, but accepted the prosecution case against her.

She had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Miss Larkin said: “She accepts she committed the offence but she cannot recall the events.”

It was six months ago, she suffered from an
auto-immune disease and had a number of other medical difficulties  including anxiety, memory loss and insomnia.

She had unfortunately suffered a lot of ill-health and had undergone radiotherapy.

The defendant had been through a number of ill-health problems and at the time was going through a custody battle and under a lot of stress.

She had worked for the NHS in the past with people with learning difficulties and presently worked in end of life care.

Jackomis was ashamed of her behaviour, said Miss Larkin.

It was a one-off offence by a woman of no previous convictions who had served her country in the army for 18 years.

She had been an officer and it was sad to see such a woman in such a situation before the court.

Miss Larkin stressed the offence was at the bottom end of seriousness for impersonating a police officer by making “a stupid comment” that should not have been made.