Man Posing As Police Stops Woman's Car In Essex

[Henry]

Essex Police are on the lookout for a man who appears to be impersonating a cop.

Police say that a woman was driving on River Road near Sandhill Road in Essex at about 2:30 yesterday afternoon when a light blue longer car came up behind her and activated a red light and siren. She pulled over and the man driving the other car asked for her license and registration. He then returned the documents and told her she was free to go.

The woman provided a sketch of the suspect. He's described as being between 25 and 30-years-old, tall and skinny with a buzz cut, a light mustache and green eyes.

Anyone with information, or who may have experienced a similar incident, is asked to call Essex Police at 878-8331.


http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=10816390

[Chris Santee]

One way to tell the difference is the color of the lights.
Vermont Police have blue lights.

[Henry]

That's good to know.  Now that you mention that, I have noticed that when the police and sheriff stop cars they have blue lights flashing.

[monte198]

true that vermont police have blue lights and fire/rescue have red.  But just across the lake it is opposite red for police, and blue for rescue.  Does this guy think he is in new york.

[David Shea]

Recently a lot of municipal vehicles from Vermont & New York have been for sale at auction.  I believe by law all of the lights and sirens need to be removed.  This individual may very well be driving a police vehicle that was bought at an action & the lights in the grill were never removed.

[7F24]

Anyone can buy red lights for their car, you need a permit from the DMV to use them legally.

[Henry]

Below is the drawing of the man posing as police:

[mirjo]

A bit of advice for women being pursued by a cop that I received sometime back, but have never had to use thankfully.

KEEP DRIVING TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION OR POPULATED AREA BEFORE STOPPING!

A real law officer will understand your reason for not stopping once you explain your reason & a phony one will likely give up the chase. If nothing else, by stopping in a store parking lot, gas station or other area where there are people, there is at least someone else around as opposed to the side of the road somewhere.

There are a lot of goofy loonies out there. Personal safety can't ever be too high on one's priority list.

[Sue W.]

That's the same advice I gave my daughter when she left for college and there was someone posing as a police officer in that area.  I was glad she never had to use it either.  It is still pretty creepy that someone is doing that.

[cedarman]

I agree it is a good idea to pull over in a populated area, but I'm not sure I'd advocate for driving all the way to the nearest police station, especially if it is miles away.

Also, it's a good idea to acknowledge the cop by putting on 4-ways or using APPROPRIATE hand signals to indicate that you intend to pull over.

[mirjo]

It may not be possible to know where a local police station is (I don't know where most are), but if I am concerned about an imposter trying to stop me-since I'm not 22, I probably don't need to worry about it-, I'm really not going to care about what my follower thinks or how far I have to drive to get to a safer place to stop!

Perhaps I am wrong, but I would like to believe that our police officers in this state would be understanding once this is explained, should they ever encounter a situation where a young woman does not stop for them right away, but instead leads them farther down the road.

Maybe the police should make a PSA of their own suggesting this course of action or similar--to deter these predators!

[Loctavious]

    Oh I'm sure in a rational situation a police officer WOULD understand why someone isn't pulling over.  BUT, in the midst of a traffic stop, where someone just continues to drive and not pullover, A police officer's training comes into play.  If you've ever seen COPS - you'll know that if the person doesn't pullover or appear to be within half a minute or so - the officer is already running plates and notifying dispatch of the situation. 
    I believe this is what cedarman was referring to as it NOT being a good idea to drive to a police station - though smart in terms of the driver, i think you'd risk creating a unnecessary tense situation for the Officer which may lead to an undesirable decision or two.

[Kathleen]

OMG! Tense situation for the Officer?  What about the single woman, driving in an unpopulated area, after hearing that there is a man impersonating an officer somewhere out there?!  I think as long as you drive calmly and don't put the officer's life in danger, you should drive to the next available public place.  If you have a cell phone, call the police dept (or 911) and let them know what you are doing and they will radio the officer.

I mean my choices are causing a tense situation for the officer and taking a chance that this could be a dangerous lunatic -- I know what my decision would be!

[Loctavious]

Public area yes - nearest police station i believe was the comment cedarman was responding to, and of which i responded to as well.  I totally understand the necessity to drive to a populated area or where people are right there outside to witness anything.  I wouldn't expect my daughter to do any different than my wife.