NORRISTOWN A former Horsham Fire Department police officer faces a year of probation after he admitted to impersonating a public servant in connection with unlawfully activating emergency lighting on his vehicle to conduct a traffic stop of a woman who he believed had cut him off on a Hatboro roadway. William M. McNichol, 60, of the 2500 block of Veser Lane in Willow Grove, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Friday to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of impersonating a public servant in connection with the June 21, 2025, incident in Hatboro. Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered McNichol to complete an anger management counseling program and to pay a $500 fine. The judge ordered McNichol to have no contact with the victim. With the charge, authorities alleged that while McNichol was an active fire police officer at the time, he was not on duty nor acting in his official capacity at the time and had no authority to perform the traffic stop. Fire police officers normally are assigned to regulate traffic or crowds at active emergency scenes. McNichol is no longer a fire police officer. The victim told police that she was traveling on Easton Road about 7: 25 p. m. June 21 when McNichol began to follow her after he apparently believed she had cut him off, according to court documents. McNichol allegedly exited his personal vehicle to yell profanities at the woman twice, while they were stopped at traffic lights at Easton and Horsham roads and again at York and Horsham roads, according to a criminal complaint filed by Hatboro Detective Sergeant Conner Dilks. “While driving north on York Road (the woman) noticed that McNichol had activated his emergency lights and pulled over as she thought she was being lawfully pulled over by a police officer. That is when McNichol stopped behind her, approached her vehicle while holding a portable radio where he continued to yell at her for her driving behavior,” Dilks alleged. An emergency responder with the Second Alarmer’s Rescue Squad witnessed the traffic stop at South York and Byberry roads and contacted Hatboro police to report what he observed. Additionally, according to court papers, a member of the Horsham Fire Department observed McNichol operating his personal vehicle with its emergency lights activated in the area of York Road in Hatboro and he contacted the fire chief to inquire if the fire department had received a call. The fire chief subsequently contacted McNichol to inquire about the reports and McNichol allegedly claimed “that a cooler had fallen within his vehicle and accidentally activated his emergency lighting,” according to the criminal complaint. McNichol made the same claim when he was later interviewed by police. McNichol told police he was “dangerously cut off” by another vehicle while traveling on Easton Road and turned his vehicle around to follow the other vehicle so he could tell the driver how dangerously she was operating her vehicle. McNichol allegedly told police that once the woman pulled over to the side of the road he exited his vehicle and spoke to her briefly. When the conversation ended “is when he noticed that his emergency lights were activated,” McNichol told police, according to court documents. Investigators contacted the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety which is responsible for all dispatches of Horsham Fire Department as well as their fire police officers. A list of dispatches that Horsham Fire Department had received that day showed McNichol was not listed on any of them as being present or responding. Additionally, McNichol’s portable radio had made a “phantom transmission” where no words were spoken about 7: 27 p. m. June 21, according to court documents. Investigators obtained video from surveillance cameras from several locations that depicted McNichol’s Dodge Charger vehicle with its flashing emergency lights illuminated and also outside his vehicle standing next to the driver’s side window of another vehicle engaging with its operator, according to court documents. A summary charge of harassment was dismissed against McNichol as part of the plea agreement. Defense lawyer Danton Lee Moyer represented McNichol during the court proceedings.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/2025/11/21/ex-horsham-fire-police-officer-admits-to-impersonating-public-servant/
Ex-Horsham fire police officer admits to impersonating public servant
