Usher: Cop Chase Ends with Photo Op ... But NO TICKET [VIDEO]

Usher's celebrity burns bright on the Sunset Strip -- so bright he can turn a chasing cop into a photo-seeking fan and walk off Scot-free.

The video is nuts -- you can see Usher driving on Sunset early Sunday morning (around 2AM) as he's aggressively followed by an L.A. County Sheriff's deputy. At one point, Usher coasts through a yellow light ... and the cop car zips after him, running a red.

Usher pulls over outside Rock & Reilly's Pub -- and next thing you see is the deputy posing with the singer for a photo ... inside the bar.

A Sheriff's source insists it was NOT a traffic stop ... but the car's red and blues are flashing and the spotlight is pointed toward Usher's whip. And it appears Usher had been speeding when he first caught the deputy's eye.