Zhang Zhijun, 23, was summonsed to court Aug. 9 for decorating his Maserati to look like a police cruiser. A Quincy District Court clerk magistrate dismissed the charge at a Thursday morning hearing.

QUINCY – Zhang Zhijun won’t have to worry about his tricked-out Maserati getting pulled over by police anymore.

A Quincy District Court clerk magistrate swiftly dismissed a charge of impersonating a police officer at a Thursday morning hearing.



Magistrate Robert Bloom ruled that the 23-year-old Braintree resident hadn’t violated the impersonation statute by decorating his 2010 Gran Turismo to resemble a black and white police cruiser, because Zhijun hadn’t taken any actions such as pulling over other drivers or pretending to be an officer.



Braintree police prosecutor Lt. Kevin Ware said “it would be hard for the public to make a differentiation,” while Zhijun’s attorney, Russell Matson said the young man “was just driving his goofy car down the street.”



Outside the courthouse, Zhijun said “Now everybody knows I’m not trying to be a police officer.”



He said he’ll probably keep the rubber-spray decorations on the car for another month.



Zhijun was cited and summonsed to court on Aug. 9, when patrol officers stopped him on Washington Street in Braintree Square.



Zhijun – who hadn’t been identified until the hearing – had the car decorated to look like a robot character from a Transformer movie, complete with 911 and “speed enforcement” decals.



The car doors are decorated to say “Decepticons punish and enslave,” a reference to the movie. The doors are also decorated with police-style badges, but the car has no blue lights on top.



Matson said Zhijun wasn’t ticketed for speeding or other traffic violations. He said Zhijun bought the car in May, and had it sprayed in solid, bright colors a couple of times before he chose the more elaborate Transformers decorations.



