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  1. #1
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    Sep 2012
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    Default Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    My question involves a traffic incident from the state of: Michigan.

    So get this... driving home from work yesterday and this guy tries to cut me off, then tailgates for about 2 miles waving a badge. I can see him in my mirror waving this badge around, pointing to it, and then pointing to the side of the road.

    Naturally, I'm skeptical and hesitant to just pull over for some crazy old guy who may or may not be a real law enforcement officer. After about two miles of him tailgating me on a 2 lane, no-passing road, he makes a move like he is going to pass me, but ends up driving against oncoming traffic, still waving this badge at me and shouting for me to pull over. He drives against oncoming traffic for at least a half a mile and forces another driver to pull over onto the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision.

    Eventually we end up at a light and he pulls up on my right side, holds up his badge, tells me he's a cop, and orders me to pull over again. I ask him his name and which police department he works for, but he refuses to answer. He says I'm resisting arrest and making it harder on myself by not following orders. So I pull over into a subdivision up the road and he pulls in behind me.

    I watch him closely as he gets out of his car, meanwhile keeping my car running with my foot on the brake, ready to take off if needed. I can see he has a handgun in a holster on his belt, covered by his shirt. This makes me very nervous. However, he does not approach my window and instead stands behind my car scribbling on a small notepad with a pencil. At this point, I'm extremely suspicious and I pull out my iPhone and start recording the whole thing.

    I get out of my car and he flashes this badge at me again and tells me to wait in my car. I tell him no and approach him, and he retreats to his car. I'm filming the encounter at this point but he doesn't see my phone. I ask him repeatedly to identify himself and his department but he refuses to answer - instead he is screaming obscenities at me. I go around to the back of his car to get his licence plate but there is none, just a temporary tag. I get a close-up of the temporary tag with the VIN on it, then come back around to his driver's door.

    He is still scribbling in his notepad and seems visibly shaken, but refuses to identify himself. I tell him it's illegal to pull someone over if you're not a police officer and ask him again if he is a member of law enforcement. He flashes the badge at me again, points to it, says "Police", and I notice he is careful to keep his thumb over the badge number. The badge is only visible for maybe 1 second. He tells me to wait in my car again, so I get in my car and drive away. He doesn't follow. I later went to the local police station and filed a report on the issue.

    I have a couple of questions about the whole encounter:

    1) Is this something an off-duty or retired police officer would be allowed to do? I mean, can a retired, plainclothes officer in an unmarked car just wave a badge at someone and force them to pull over?
    2) Has a crime been committed here? I have, very clearly on the video, him presenting this badge to me, pointing at it, and saying "Police". If this guy was not an officer, would this be considered impersonating a police officer?

    Police are investigating, but so far they have no match for the VIN or the other numbers on the temporary tag that was in this guy's vehicle window.

  2. #2
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    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    I have to look it up to be sure but I'm pretty sure there are some laws in Michigan as to the car being marked to be able to pull you over. If that was a real cop, I'm almost positive what he did was illegal.

    - - - Updated - - -

    750.479a Failure to obey direction of police or conservation officer to stop motor vehicle; applicability of subsection (1); fleeing and eluding as felony; penalty; suspension of license; revocation; conviction and sentence under other provision; “serious impairment of a body function” defined.Sec. 479a.
    (1) A driver of a motor vehicle who is given by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren a visual or audible signal by a police or conservation officer, acting in the lawful performance of his or her duty, directing the driver to bring his or her motor vehicle to a stop shall not willfully fail to obey that direction by increasing the speed of the vehicle, extinguishing the lights of the vehicle, or otherwise attempting to flee or elude the police or conservation officer. This subsection does not apply unless the police or conservation officer giving the signal is in uniform and the officer's vehicle is identified as an official police or department of natural resources vehicle.
    based on that law, unless the officer is in uniform and the vehicle is marked as a police car, you have no duty to pull over.

    and the police are not going to use a vehicle with a temp tag.



    so:

    1) Is this something an off-duty or retired police officer would be allowed to do?
    no

    I mean, can a retired, plainclothes officer in an unmarked car just wave a badge at someone and force them to pull over?
    no


    2) Has a crime been committed here?
    Not by you but I suspect by the other person, yes.

    I have, very clearly on the video, him presenting this badge to me, pointing at it, and saying "Police". If this guy was not an officer, would this be considered impersonating a police officer?
    yes

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    I would have called 911 immediately, as soon as it became apparent he was a whack job.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    Great answer, thanks. Now I just have to hope that they are able to identify this guy based on the information I provided to the investigating officers. So far they have no hits on the VIN I got from the temporary tag.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    Quote Quoting torgis
    View Post
    Great answer, thanks. Now I just have to hope that they are able to identify this guy based on the information I provided to the investigating officers. So far they have no hits on the VIN I got from the temporary tag.
    Try the picture you have and photo recognition software. This whack job may hurt someone.

    https://michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-12...2044--,00.html

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    Hopefully you got a good picture of his face and his vehicle. Did you get a good shot of the badge? If it was a real badge, it would have identifying information on it. It might provide some clues as to who the guy is if there is any such information.



    when trying to find information for this, I read several comments directly from the state of Michigan. They often recommended that if in doubt and you have a phone, contact 911 and ask them to verify if a police officer is actually attempting to pull you over. They can verify that with a couple of quick radio calls or such.


    Not only would that prevent you from getting caught up by an impersonator, it may allow them to dispatch a real cop to your location/path and intercept the fake cop.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    I got a decent shot of his face but he kept his thumb over the badge when he flashed it, so the only thing I could see was "Detroit Police" and nothing else. I had considered continuing to drive while calling 911, but his actions to get me to stop were endangering the lives of everyone else on the road. Seemed safer for everyone to get him into a subdivision and figure out what the deal was. At one point he was literally driving on the wrong side of the road and forcing oncoming cars onto the shoulder.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Pulled Over by Unidentified Off-Duty or Retired Police Officer, Possibly Fake

    well, hopefully they catch him either way. If he was an imposter, he needs to go to jail. If he is a real cop, he needs to be fired.

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