Police on hunt for fake officer

BEECH GROVE, Ind. (WISH) - An alert tonight coming from Beech Grove police: Someone in the community is pretending to be a police officer.

The latest victim told police he was driving near the 1100 block of South Ninth Street when a man driving a Ford Crown Victoria – a car often used as a patrol car - pulled him over.

“He didn't do anything out of the ordinary,” Ken Dotson said. “He was really good at it.”

Detective Robert Mercuri said criminals have help these days “from watching television shows like Cops and things like that people have a good idea of the first couple words a law enforcement officer says.”

This suspect, police said, was wearing dark clothing and had flashing lights in or on his vehicle.

Dotson said the man who pulled him over was convincing – until he ripped him off. He kept Dotson’s driver’s license, vehicle registration and his debit card.

Dotson said he knew something was up when the man said he had an emergency run and never came back.

Investigators emphasized that driving off after being pulled over, before the officer clears you to leave, is dangerous. But there are things you can do to help discern a real officer from the fake.

Mercuri advises that when an officer approaches your car, you can roll the windows down only partially and check for proper identification. The car being driven by can give away an impostor, too. Officers’ sirens and lights – both red and blue – are built into the car, not added on. Also, any officer driving an unmarked car must be in uniform when on duty.

When in doubt, Mercuri said people should never hesitate to call 911 to alert dispatchers of a suspicious situation.