people inpersonating police officers

Dr. Jones · 02-25-03, 01:50

I'm not sure if this is going on anywhere else, but here in Colorado it's happend at least a couple times in the past few weeks. In one instance it lead to the murder of a young woman. Here is a few news stories about this from the past two weeks.

http://www.9news.com/storyfull-search.asp?id=11496
http://www.9news.com/storyfull-search.asp?id=11236
http://www.9news.com/storyfull-search.asp?id=11205
http://www.9news.com/storyfull-search.asp?id=10910

Basically people are pulling people over and impersinating police officers. Not just for fun, but often to commit other crimes like car theft. Everyone should watch out for this. The tips that i heard on the news are:

If the cop doesn't look official or is in an unmarked car, keep your doors locked and windows rolled up.

Don't open anything untill you are sure they are a real cop.

You can ask to see a badge which depending on your county are usually marked with some kind of seal to show they are legit.

If you have any suspicions that the person might not be a real cop, ask them to call the nearest marked police vehicle to come and assist them.

Don't pull over untill you are in a safe spot in a lighted area in public. If you aren't imediatly close to one, turn on your hazard lights to let the cop know you do plan on pulling over.

Legally all of that is ok for you to do. The cops here in colorado are more than generous with the requests because of what has been going on. It doesn't hurt to be safe.

The guy(s) doing it around here suposeldy looked unofficial. In at least once case he didn't have a gun, or full uniform, or even a belt with all that stuff on it. If you see someone like this don't make sure you get some proof of who they are before assuming they are a real cop.

medic · 02-25-03, 02:33

if you have a cell phone, you can call 911 and they should be able to contact the officer following you...it's a bit of a pain becuase the dispatch centers aren't necessarilly colocated with the people handleing officer radio traffic, but they should be able to work it out.

A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous activities for a police officer, so if you don't pull over right away, they may get a bit annoyed with you when you finally do stop.

Dr. Jones · 02-25-03, 02:39

Quote:

Originally posted by medic

A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous activities for a police officer, so if you don't pull over right away, they may get a bit annoyed with you when you finally do stop.

True, i think this is why it's a good idea to put your hazards on to let them know you acknowledge them. But if i have to put my saftey over a cops discomfort i'm going to chose my saftey. I think putting the hazards on and slowing down are enough to ease their fears and let them know that you are just looking for a safe place. I doubt they would appreciate it if you pulled over onto the side of the road with a 4 foot wide side margine with traffic going 75 mph rushing by on a highway. If I ever had to drive a little bit to pull over the first thing i'd say to the cop would be "i'm sorry i didn't pull over right away but i thought this spot would be safer for both of us" or something similiar.

I know how the justice system works (somewhat) and while a cop being 'anoyed' shouldn't affect what you are issued or what happens, there is a good chance it might. A lawyer could probably help here if that is the case.

They interviewed a couple of cops on the news and all of them said they would like people to be more cautious. At least with what's going on in CO right now i think they would be more than fine with people taking a little bit of care.

PrinzII · 02-25-03, 03:57

We had that problem several years ago in the Chicago area. There was someone impersonating a cop running around the city and suburbs. The cops here were telling all the women to be cautious as this guy would target women to pull his act with.

TurboCat · 02-25-03, 05:36

This kind of stuff was happening in Nashville back in the 80s (when I was in college). There was an Illinois family driving down to Disney World going thru Nashville during the middle of the night, and they were pulled over by flashing lights. Everybody was asleep except for the driver (the woman). She was robbed of all of their cash (they all of their vacation $ in cash, no traveller's checks) and then the guy smashed their windshield with a baseball bat! I felt so bad for them.

rightlane · 02-26-03, 11:17

Now I don't come out often but, I have been a COP for thirty years. BTW: COP stands for "Constable on Patrol". There is no reason on this earth for an officer to have to work traffic in an unmarked car in plain clothes. I had to work in an umarked car at times and it only scares people. It is not more productive. Its legal but stupid.

enough said!

2wheelsx2 · 02-26-03, 11:42

Quote:

Originally posted by rightlane
There is no reason on this earth for an officer to have to work traffic in an unmarked car in plain clothes. I had to work in an umarked car at times and it only scares people. It is not more productive. Its legal but stupid.

enough said!

I agree, but that was the case for me a couple of weeks ago. I pulled out to pass a couple of slow cars, and a car immediately tailed me and sped up. I was worried about getting rear-ended and sped up even more, and that's when he flicked on his strobes. Luckily, he didn't cite me for excessive speed.

medic · 02-26-03, 01:46

Quote:

Originally posted by rightlane
Now I don't come out often but, I have been a COP for thirty years. BTW: COP stands for "Constable on Patrol". There is no reason on this earth for an officer to have to work traffic in an unmarked car in plain clothes. I had to work in an umarked car at times and it only scares people. It is not more productive. Its legal but stupid.

enough said!

Really, they work plain clothes to? When this happened in AZ when I lived there, the guy had on a police costume. It didn't look too similar (fake patches), but when you have a person you think is a cop pull you over and shine a light in your face you probably aren't thinking about checking for the badge number or even the proper uniform identification.

Yeah, plain clothes and unmarked is nuts unless the office is undercover; but then what's he wasting time with pulling people over for.

Red98gt · 02-26-03, 01:57

I've heard here in Tulsa, they call for a "Marked" car if undercover needs to pull someone over. TPD had the TV news make sure people knew after we had the same problems with someone impersonating a cop. Nice to know.......

AzN Retribution · 02-26-03, 02:06

wow. I havent heard of any of this..
closest was hearing of someone impersonating a cop to get free coffee at starbucks.

Dr. Jones · 02-26-03, 02:25

OT: one of the coffee places around here (peaberrys, i like it more than starbucks because they have chocolate covered beans (don't remember which but they are high in cafeen) in one of those bubble gum dispensors) is offering free coffee to anyone who shows them that they are an organ donor.

mzgloves20 · 02-26-03, 07:44

We have several incidents of that type of activity going on here in PA....one suspect is a vol. fire fighter with a full size blue light bar on a Ford Tarus... psycho...!!!

Here in PA a municipal or county police vehicle must have RED and BLUE lights. State Police unmarked vehicles may have a single RED light. Unmarked units are often used for traffic but the officer must be in uniform to write a citation. He can stop you (ie a detective who views an incident) but he then has to call a uniformed officer to do the follow up.

Don't stop for a single blue light in PA...(yeild for firemen, obviously...)

Definitly put your four ways on if you are going to continue to a safer location.... I have been on low speed pursuits due to the operators high level of intoxication, just can't figure out what to do...

I know that I will always try to pull someone over in a well lighted area for the safety of me and the individual.