NY woman faces charges in I-691 road rage incident

Police say she flashed badge while impersonating officer

A New York woman was arrested in connection with a road rage incident on Interstate 691 in 2023, when she flashed a police badge at a driver and allegedly claimed she was law enforcement, state police said.

On March 23, 2023, Troop I in Bethany received a call from a driver around 8:15 a.m. reporting a disturbance on I-691 East in the area of Exit 10 in Meriden, according to the Connecticut State Police.

The caller told the responding trooper he was traveling on I-691 East on the Exit 10 ramp in heavy traffic when he saw a gray Jeep Cherokee to the left of his vehicle attempting to force its way onto the exit ramp, state police said.

To avoid being hit by the Jeep, he claimed he had to maneuver his vehicle into the right shoulder. He then moved into the middle lane, preparing to merge onto I-91 South when he noticed that the Jeep was traveling immediately to his right and the driver, a woman, lowered her window and allegedly began yelling obscenities, according to state police.

He then told the trooper he began driving behind the Jeep on Route 15 South as it exited at Exit 67S traveling toward Main Street in Meriden. According to the man, the woman hit her brakes in the middle of the exit ramp, forcing him to do the same to avoid colliding with the Jeep. The two drivers then continued on to East Main Street and entered a parking lot, state police said. The man said he had been on a 911 call and disconnected the call as the Jeep driver drove up beside him and lowered the windows to speak to him.

During the interaction, he said he told

the woman that police would be responding to their location. She allegedly responded by saying “I’m law enforcement. Let me show you my badge. Let’s talk about it.”

According to the man, the Jeep driver allegedly displayed a gold-colored badge and ID in a wallet before driving out of the parking lot.

“The complainant was able to obtain the New York registration displayed on the Jeep and provided the information to the responding trooper,” state police said. “Additionally, the complainant’s vehicle was equipped with a camera system which had recorded these alleged interactions.”

During the investigation, the man played back the video recording of the alleged incident, according to state police. The face of the Jeep driver was not visible, state police said, but the audio portion of the recording corroborated his allegations that the female driver claimed she was law enforcement. The video recording also reportedly showed the Jeep driver slamming her brakes on Route 15, according to state police.

“A copy of the audio/video recording was subsequently processed as evidence in this investigation,” state police said.

The driver of the Jeep was identified as 25-year-old Kimberly N. Nelson of New Rochelle, New York.

On May 18, 2023, a trooper made contact with Nelson by phone and obtained a brief account of the events leading up to the alleged incident.

“During the phone conversation, Nelson explained that she may have given the complainant the middle finger and showed the complainant a badge,” state police said. The trooper then told Nelson the state police would need to coordinate a meeting to further discuss the alleged incident.

State police said they were able to determine that Nelson was not a member of law enforcement.

Following the May telephone conversation, the trooper unsuccessfully attempted to contact Nelson multiple times by phone to coordinate a meeting, according to state police.

Based on the information obtained during the investigation, an arrest warrant was applied for and granted. After learning of the active warrant for her arrest, Nelson turned herself in at Troop I in Bethany on Tuesday, state police said. She was taken into custody, processed and charged with second-degree breach of peace, second-degree reckless endangerment and impersonation of a police officer

Nelson was released on a $5,000 cash bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Meriden Superior Court on March 6, according to state police.