Police impersonator reportedly targeting female drivers
By Jesse Sarles
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ERIE, Colorado (KCNC) — Officials in Weld County on Saturday sent out a warning about a police impersonator who has been targeting female drivers. It has happened several times near Erie, and so far the culprit hasn’t been caught.
The most recent incident happened near Erie Parkway and Interstate 25 on Friday. A woman told police a man driving a black sedan with red and blue lights mounted on it pulled her over. She said he came to her car wearing a utility belt with a baton on his hip and asked for her license and registration after posing a question about why she thought he had pulled her over.
The woman noticed the man wasn’t wearing a badge and when she asked him why not, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office described his reaction as follows:
The suspect told the woman the badge was in his vehicle. The suspect invited the woman to step out of her car and to come back to his vehicle to see his badge. The woman then said she was going to call 911 to get his badge number. The suspect then returned to his car and drove away.
Two other police impersonation cases were reported to Erie police in the same general area in late July, and the victims in those cases said the events played out in a similar manner. Another case was also reported in neighboring Boulder County.
The sheriff’s office described the suspect as white and clean shaven. They said he has average length brown hair and is about 6 feet tall. He was wearing black pants and a black short sleeve button-down shirt.
Anyone who is pulled over by someone they think is in any way suspicious is urged to call 911 immediately and ask the dispatcher if it is really a law enforcement officer that is making the traffic stop. The sheriff’s office also encouraged everyone in that situation to:
– Put their car’s hazard lights on to let other drivers know they are stopping. – Pull over in a well lit area. – Ask the 911 dispatcher to stay on the phone during the initial interaction with the person who conducted the traffic stop. – Get the license plate number of the vehicle that was used to make the traffic stop, and get a good description of the person and the car.
Anyone who has information about the case that might help investigators is asked to call Deputy Chris Dalzell at (970) 400-4508.
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