Cop car paint colors? Check. Some sort of shield with some sort of saying on the side? Done. K-9 and 9-1-1 decals in appropriate spots? Got’em. Yet somehow, police in Massachusetts realized that a Maserati isn’t likely to be a real cop car. Because hello, $100,000 (give or take a few thousand) sports car, you’ve clearly got better things to do than impersonating a police cruiser.

The Braintree, Mass. deputy police chief says a patrol officer stopped a man driving a Maserati that was “made to look like a police cruiser,” including a black-and-white paint job with a police-ish shield on the doors and the appropriate decals, reports the Patriot-Ledger.

And upon closer inspection, that shield actually read “Decepticons punish and enslave,” instead of “protect and serve.

Another telltale sign — the vehicle was missing the blue police lights on top.

A patrol officer found himself behind the Maserati and found it funny, because he “didn’t know of any (police) department that had a Maserati,” so he pulled the car over.

The driver insisted that he was actually doing police a favor by driving around, “because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle.”

It’s unclear how that defense will hold up — he’s been summoned for a clerk magistrate hearing in district court.

Braintree cops say Maserati owner impersonating officer [The Patriot-Ledger]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.