http://wqad.com/2016/10/26/man-impersonates-officer-in-late-night-rural-traffic-stop-advice-if-it-happens-to-you/

 

Was browsing news sites and came across this.  Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?  I know a lot of people don't understand how unmarked or undercover cars work, but in this day and age, most police units, marked or unmarked, are decked out in lights.  Even if they aren't, they will at least have LEDs in the grill and wig wags.   Undercover cars, at least in my area, are used simply for sting operations and cannot pull anyone over.  Furthermore, from what the article says, no siren was used, she just saw the lights and instantly pulled over.  Why?  From everything I've seen and been told, including from an officer during a ride a long, you can't just turn on your lights.  You have to blip the siren as a way to say "Yes, you, pull over."  That could vary depending on the area.

 

Jumping to something else, when was the last time you saw a plain clothed officer (not part of a sting) pulling people over?  Detectives don't do that, or if they do (rarely), they will call in a marked unit.  If you get pulled over by some car only flashing two lights, and the person isn't wearing a LEO uniform, you drive away and call 911. You can also at the time of them pulling you over call 911 immediately and verify if that is an officer behind you.  Don't just look at the lights and think 'Hey, a cop!'

 

It just baffles me that people still fall for fake police pull overs...especially late at night!

5 hours ago, Arariel said:

http://wqad.com/2016/10/26/man-impersonates-officer-in-late-night-rural-traffic-stop-advice-if-it-happens-to-you/

 

Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?

 

Anyone that isn't clued in on the intricacies of law enforcement.  Which is like... almost everyone.

5 hours ago, Arariel said:

http://wqad.com/2016/10/26/man-impersonates-officer-in-late-night-rural-traffic-stop-advice-if-it-happens-to-you/

 

Was browsing news sites and came across this.  Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?  I know a lot of people don't understand how unmarked or undercover cars work, but in this day and age, most police units, marked or unmarked, are decked out in lights.  Even if they aren't, they will at least have LEDs in the grill and wig wags.   Undercover cars, at least in my area, are used simply for sting operations and cannot pull anyone over.  Furthermore, from what the article says, no siren was used, she just saw the lights and instantly pulled over.  Why?  From everything I've seen and been told, including from an officer during a ride a long, you can't just turn on your lights.  You have to blip the siren as a way to say "Yes, you, pull over."  That could vary depending on the area.

 

Jumping to something else, when was the last time you saw a plain clothed officer (not part of a sting) pulling people over?  Detectives don't do that, or if they do (rarely), they will call in a marked unit.  If you get pulled over by some car only flashing two lights, and the person isn't wearing a LEO uniform, you drive away and call 911. You can also at the time of them pulling you over call 911 immediately and verify if that is an officer behind you.  Don't just look at the lights and think 'Hey, a cop!'

 

It just baffles me that people still fall for fake police pull overs...especially late at night!

LAPD for example has in the front only 1 tricuda and on the headlights litle lights.

2 hours ago, Scuderio said:

LAPD for example has in the front only 1 tricuda and on the headlights litle lights.

 

That's correct, but only on the older slicktops. The newer ones have both red and blue in the front.

 

 

8 hours ago, Arariel said:

Was browsing news sites and came across this.  Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?  I know a lot of people don't understand how unmarked or undercover cars work, but in this day and age, most police units, marked or unmarked, are decked out in lights.  Even if they aren't, they will at least have LEDs in the grill and wig wags.

I know this was in America, but unmarked units over here in Western Australia rarely have more than two light sticks. One on the front dash and one on the rear. Sometimes they only have the front mount and sometimes not at all, just the LED you manually put on the roof (although only detectives use that).

 

Pretty much what Sam said. Most people aren't familiar with law enforcement equipment whatsoever, it may not seem so but it's a rather niche interest. While I may be able to name what the police car is, what lightbar it's rocking, someone like my mother just sees a police car and nothing more.

6 hours ago, Sam said:

 

Anyone that isn't clued in on the intricacies of law enforcement.  Which is like... almost everyone.

 

Maybe it's time people learn a few things instead of allowing themselves to be victims because they choose to be oblivious.  The only reason fake cops have success is because people choose not to get informed, or use common sense.  If the person getting out of a supposed police car isn't wearing any type of uniform,no badge in sight, no radio, nothing to indicate police officer, you should drive off.

Edited October 27, 20169 yr by Arariel

49 minutes ago, Arariel said:

 

Maybe it's time people learn a few things instead of allowing themselves to be victims because they choose to be oblivious.  The only reason fake cops have success is because people choose not to get informed, or use common sense.  If the person getting out of a supposed police car isn't wearing any type of uniform,no badge in sight, no radio, nothing to indicate police officer, you should drive off.

You always have the option to call 9-1-1 (in the states) and verify that a police officer is performing a stop on you. The dispatcher will tell you.

51 minutes ago, Arariel said:

Maybe it's time people learn a few things instead of allowing themselves to be victims because they choose to be oblivious.  The only reason fake cops have success is because people choose not to get informed, or use common sense.  If the person getting out of a supposed police car isn't wearing any type of uniform,no badge in sight, no radio, nothing to indicate police officer, you should drive off.

 

The problem with this is that I've heard of cases where people took similar action (e.g. not stopping immediately and instead driving to a well lit area) and they were either given a very hard time by the cops because of this, or in some cases were actually arrested.

 

One example of this is a nurse that was charged with a *felony* for driving to a well lit area: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ind-nurse-faces-felony-not-stopping-safety-article-1.2171710  The irony of this is that the police department involved actually advised people to do just that!  Thankfully the charges were later dropped, although that must have been a horrifying experience.

4 minutes ago, Sam said:

 

The problem with this is that I've heard of cases where people took similar action (e.g. not stopping immediately and instead driving to a well lit area) and they were either given a very hard time by the cops because of this, or in some cases were actually arrested.

 

One example of this is a nurse that was charged with a *felony* for driving to a well lit area: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ind-nurse-faces-felony-not-stopping-safety-article-1.2171710  The irony of this is that the police department involved actually advised people to do just that!  Thankfully the charges were later dropped, although that must have been a horrifying experience.

That's the problem though, I just don't get why people are impersonating cops it's just so stupid.

7 minutes ago, Sam said:

 

The problem with this is that I've heard of cases where people took similar action (e.g. not stopping immediately and instead driving to a well lit area) and they were either given a very hard time by the cops because of this, or in some cases were actually arrested.

 

One example of this is a nurse that was charged with a *felony* for driving to a well lit area: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ind-nurse-faces-felony-not-stopping-safety-article-1.2171710  The irony of this is that the police department involved actually advised people to do just that!  Thankfully the charges were later dropped, although that must have been a horrifying experience.

 

That's what the cop I rode with told me.  You have the right to drive to a well lit, well populated area before letting the officer come up to you, but you have to let the officer know (via hand signal or hazards or whatever) that you know he's there, but you're trying to find a better spot. 

7 minutes ago, Scuderio said:

That's the problem though, I just don't get why people are impersonating cops it's just so stupid.

 

They do it because it works.  If it didn't work, it wouldn't happen.

17 minutes ago, Lundy said:

You always have the option to call 9-1-1 (in the states) and verify that a police officer is performing a stop on you. The dispatcher will tell you.

 

Hardly anyone knows this, though.  That's what I mean about them needing to get informed.

4 minutes ago, Arariel said:

 

That's what the cop I rode with told me.  You have the right to drive to a well lit, well populated area before letting the officer come up to you, but you have to let the officer know (via hand signal or hazards or whatever) that you know he's there, but you're trying to find a better spot. 

 

They do it because it works.  If it didn't work, it wouldn't happen.

But what do they get from it? Do they do it for the money or what? Because in Germany is it like you get a bill which you have to pay until a certain date.

6 minutes ago, Scuderio said:

But what do they get from it? Do they do it for the money or what? Because in Germany is it like you get a bill which you have to pay until a certain date.

 

They could get a variety of things depending on what they are.  Rapist, murderer, thief (yes, people go to extreme lengths),they do it for fun, for the adrenaline, or they are police academy flunkies who are still trying to live their goal of being a police officer.

In my opinion, the reason why its working is because people dont feel the need to educate, or be educated, about law enforcement. They, through simply living life, learned that flashing lights means you pull over. Not many people are going to think, "Okay, today I am going to educate myself on my local law enfocement, laws, police officers, etc" simply because they think they will never fall victim to it, or it never crosses their minds that they should.

16 hours ago, Arariel said:

Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?  I know a lot of people don't understand how unmarked or undercover cars work, but in this day and age, most police units, marked or unmarked, are decked out in lights.

Simply going along with this, any person who didnt go out of their way (which, in all honesty, who would go out of their way when they think it will never happen) to research anything about their local police department is going to pull over. Departments in my area are using less and less lights. Why? Because it is specifcally an unmarked, and having an undercover christmas tree isnt really, well, undercover. Although I agree that everyone should be aware of their local departments, laws, etc, I would never in my life would I go online and actually research this if I wasnt apart of this community because 1) I would have the attitude of "Itll never happen to me" and 2) Because I simply shouldnt have to.

Reading this provides some interesting insight into just how different traffic and law enforcement practices in varying jurisdictions can be.

It all comes down to the aforementioned fact that people aren't very familiar with traffic stops and in all sincerity you can't really expect it of them. 

 

Incidents like this have happened where I live, although it is extremely rare. Drivers never even suspect it and always pull over immediately. Given the rather unrestricted legislation on unmarked police cars, especially so if compared to American standards, it would be understandably difficult for anyone to make out a phony cop car, let alone in the dark. While most patrol cars are well equipped with plenty of lights, the law doesn't require the siren to be used at all, and whether the car is marked or not plays no part in the subject's obligation to come to a stop. Many drivers, especially in the rural parts, have never been pulled over, so that makes any kind of "cop authenticity validation" extremely difficult at a glance. Even real cops would have a hard time figuring it out on first impressions. I guess delaying pulling over until the cops blip the siren is the fool-proof way of making sure it's the real deal.

 

35 minutes ago, Aquamenti said:

I guess delaying pulling over until the cops blip the siren is the fool-proof way of making sure it's the real deal.

But what if someone is so insane that they've even bought a siren, too? One with the same tones as the real police department use wherever they are? If they can buy emergency lights for their vehicle, they can buy a siren too, right?

I do understand people not being well versed in these types of situations, but common sense also needs to come into play.  If you get pulled over by an unmarked car, and the guy approaching you has no uniform on, why aren't you panicking and thinking 'something isn't right!'?  You don't have to be well versed in law enforcement to know that 100% of the time of being pulled over, you'll be pulled over by an officer in uniform.  At least in the US, a plain clothed officer or detective cannot conduct traffic stops unless it's a specific situation.

5 minutes ago, Arariel said:

I do understand people not being well versed in these types of situations, but common sense also needs to come into play.  If you get pulled over by an unmarked car, and the guy approaching you has no uniform on, why aren't you panicking and thinking 'something isn't right!'?  You don't have to be well versed in law enforcement to know that 100% of the time of being pulled over, you'll be pulled over by an officer in uniform.  At least in the US, a plain clothed officer or detective cannot conduct traffic stops unless it's a specific situation.

Your first 13 words say the answer to your question. People who arent educated about law enforcement will think that this plain clothed "Officer" is "Undercover or Unmarked" (Seeing that many dont know the difference...)

People who arent educated dont know that kind of stuff. And like I said earlier, and like @Aquamenti agreed with, you cannot expect people to automatically know "Right from Wrong", or a "Real Traffic Stop from a Fake Traffic Stop"

11 minutes ago, GGN Crazy said:

Your first 13 words say the answer to your question. People who arent educated about law enforcement will think that this plain clothed "Officer" is "Undercover or Unmarked" (Seeing that many dont know the difference...)

People who arent educated dont know that kind of stuff. And like I said earlier, and like @Aquamenti agreed with, you cannot expect people to automatically know "Right from Wrong", or a "Real Traffic Stop from a Fake Traffic Stop"

 

But still, common sense is a thing.  People watch cop shows, people see police officers in person, see traffic stops driving by.  When have they ever seen a plain clothed officer doing the stop?  It should be very simple to identify that cops wear uniforms when they pull you over. Sure, some of the hardcore impersonators will buy a vest and try to dress the part - fair enough, but in cases where the impersonator is just wearing casual clothes?  Come on now. 

23 hours ago, Pipeline said:

But what if someone is so insane that they've even bought a siren, too? One with the same tones as the real police department use wherever they are? If they can buy emergency lights for their vehicle, they can buy a siren too, right?

That's beyond unlikely, but should it happen, you stop and see what they want, and that's pretty much it. Because there's no way to immediately recognize the difference.

EDIT: It's actually even further complicated by the fact that an officer who is authorized to conduct traffic stops may wish to do so from a vehicle that isn't properly equipped for it, ie lacks red lights and a siren (blue means make way, red means stop). It's a very specific situation and by law you wouldn't be compelled to pull over but theoretically it's plausible and in that case any good citizen would want to co-operate rather than have the authorities waste resources on something so mundane as a traffic stop. 

 

23 hours ago, Arariel said:

At least in the US, a plain clothed officer or detective cannot conduct traffic stops unless it's a specific situation.

Not here, although plain clothes officers rarely, if ever, pull anyone over. But it is a possibility and I've seen it happen.

Edited October 30, 20169 yr by Aquamenti

On 10/27/2016 at 3:14 AM, Arariel said:

http://wqad.com/2016/10/26/man-impersonates-officer-in-late-night-rural-traffic-stop-advice-if-it-happens-to-you/

 

Was browsing news sites and came across this.  Who in their right mind would see a car with ONLY two lights in the dash, nowhere else, and think 'that is a legit cop car!'?  I know a lot of people don't understand how unmarked or undercover cars work, but in this day and age, most police units, marked or unmarked, are decked out in lights.  Even if they aren't, they will at least have LEDs in the grill and wig wags.   Undercover cars, at least in my area, are used simply for sting operations and cannot pull anyone over.  Furthermore, from what the article says, no siren was used, she just saw the lights and instantly pulled over.  Why?  From everything I've seen and been told, including from an officer during a ride a long, you can't just turn on your lights.  You have to blip the siren as a way to say "Yes, you, pull over."  That could vary depending on the area.

 

Jumping to something else, when was the last time you saw a plain clothed officer (not part of a sting) pulling people over?  Detectives don't do that, or if they do (rarely), they will call in a marked unit.  If you get pulled over by some car only flashing two lights, and the person isn't wearing a LEO uniform, you drive away and call 911. You can also at the time of them pulling you over call 911 immediately and verify if that is an officer behind you.  Don't just look at the lights and think 'Hey, a cop!'

 

It just baffles me that people still fall for fake police pull overs...especially late at night!

You'd be amazed at how clueless people, especially Americans, are when it comes to anything law enforcement related. Americans, based on my own experiences, generally don't really have any clue when it comes to Police. This can help explain why there's a lot of hate towards law enforcement, on top of the political situation we've got going on here, but that's aside from the point. 

 

I've had family members point to cars that were blatantly civilian vehicles and state that they were undercover, simply because of the vehicle model. "That car looks like a Crown Victoria, therefore it's a police car. "