A Fake Dealer Tag Lead to the Death of an Officer in Grand Prairie, Texas
No matter how many laws are passed, criminals will find a way to subvert those laws. The newest way criminals have been able to get away with their devious acts is through fake dealer tags. These criminals are able to register themselves as a car dealership which gives them access to the Department of Motor Vehicles to be able to make a dealer tag. That tag is placed on a vehicle to be used for whatever criminal activity they are up to. A Grand Prairie, Texas officer noticed this during a recent traffic stop and sadly lost his life trying to bring this person in.
Incident Happened Late Monday Night
This was around 10:45 Monday night when Grand Prairie officer Brandon Tsai attempted to pull over a silver Chevy Malibu that had a fake dealer tag. The driver of that vehicle took off which lead to a chase. During that chase, Tsai's cruiser hit another police vehicle flipping Tsai's vehicle on it's side and sliding into a pole. Tsai was unfortunately killed in that accident.
Fake Dealer Tag
Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney said that the fake paper tag being used had the tag number of 0330S43 which has been seen on about 200 vehicles in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The Problem of Fake Dealer Tags
The problem with these fake paper tags is that criminals can use them to conceal their identity which makes finding them very difficult. Fake dealer tags can also be purchased online for an individual to use on their vehicle so they don't have to register the vehicle. That also most likely means that individual isn't carrying insurance on that vehicle which means you'll be left paying for it if in an accident.
Me personally, I've seen vehicles in Tyler that are not dealership quality with dealer tags on the back. I had a former neighbor who was using a fake dealer tag on their vehicle. It became really obvious when they put one on their vehicle that was from California.
I’ll be going to Austin, and it will be one of my top priorities – for Brandon Tsai. - Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen
Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen knows that fake dealer tags are a huge problem right now and told WFAA that he will be going to Austin to lobby for better laws to fight this practice.
Say a prayer for the Grand Prairie Police Department as they mourn the loss of one of their officers and especially say a prayer for officer Tsai's family.