York sex offender blocked road with car flashers; He wasn’t a firefighter, police say
A York man who obstructed firefighters by blocking a road with his vehicle using illegal flashing lights has been arrested.
The suspect is a convicted sex offender who may have falsely presented himself as a fireman at other scenes in the days leading up to his arrest, South Carolina police and court records show.
Robert Michael Shipman, 29, of Ross Cannon Street, was charged Saturday with obstructing the fire department and illegal use of emergency red lights on a vehicle, according to York police records.
Shipman is not a firefighter with any city or county department, said Capt. Brian Trail of the York Police Department. Shipman blocked a road near a crash on Jefferson Street Saturday, Trail said. Shipman’s personal vehicle had flashing red lights on it despite Shipman having no affiliation with emergency responders, Trail said.
Because Shipman’s vehicle blocked the road, the York Fire Department had to alter its route to the crash scene and emergency services were delayed, police said in an incident report.
York Police Department officials sent out an agency alert to officers Friday saying Shipman had been showing up at City of York calls and “presenting himself as a firefighter,” the police incident report stated.
Trail said it is not wrong for the public to help someone after coming upon an incident scene before trained emergency help arrives. But it is wrong to purport to be an official at a scene.
“We would never say don’t help, don’t render aid. But don’t present yourself as a member of a fire department, law enforcement or other emergency agency if you are not,” Trail said.
Domenic Manera, York Fire Department chief, said a person who is not a fire department or other emergency responder member can impede life-saving work. Firefighters and many other emergency responders have specialized training, Manera said.
“That potentially puts the person and patients at risk,” Manera said. “ It is never right to present yourself as being official if you are not.”
Trail confirmed that Shipman is a registered sex offender in South Carolina.
Shipman was convicted of burglary and lewd act on a child near Charleston in 2012, according to State Law Enforcement Division records. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for those crimes, records show.
In 2018, Shipman pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor after an arrest involving child porn photos, court and SLED records show. He received a sentence of 18 months, which was suspended after Shipman had served 309 days in jail, court records show.
Shipman was free on $1,500 bond at the time of Saturday’s arrest, after a charge from May of violating terms of electronic monitoring.
He was released on a personal recognizance bond after his arrest Saturday for obstructing the fire department, Trail said.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
