ADEL – Cook County Sheriff Doug Hanks is warning the public of a report of a person impersonating a law enforcement officer after a suspicious encounter experienced by a female motorist driving in Cook County recently.
Sheriff Hanks advised that the female citizen reported that she was travelling around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening on the east side of Cook County in the area of the intersection of Highway 76 and Highway 37 when she noticed a vehicle behind her displaying flashing blue lights from the front grill or headlight area of the car.
The motorist stated that she pulled over and the vehicle pulled over behind her. The citizen reported that the individual approached her vehicle and asked for her driver’s license and then returned to his vehicle. The vehicle was described as newer model car, possibly white or light colored. The victim was sure that the vehicle did not have roof mounted lights and she saw no markings on the car.
The victim further described the event by saying that the individual returned to her car and requested her to step out of the vehicle with which she complied. The victim stated that the individual asked her to complete some roadside sobriety tests and then searched her car. The victim stated that the individual finished the search and then allowed her to leave.
The incident was only made known because the victim had misplaced a personal item during the traffic stop and called the Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to find it.
The victim described the impersonator as a white male, around 40, and medium build with light brown or blonde hair. The victim stated he was around 5’10-11″ tall.
The individual was wearing a brown button-down style shirt with no badge or identification displayed on the shirt. The victim stated the individual had some type of badge displayed on his belt and had a firearm holstered around the small of his back.
Sheriff Hanks stated, “the Sheriff’s Office does not employ any unmarked cars in our fleet, but we do utilize several unmarked pickup trucks that are used by specialized units. Traffic stops are not encouraged by deputies operating these vehicles but are sometimes unavoidable.”
The Sheriff’s Office has verified that no traffic stops were conducted by their personnel in that area at the time reported by the victim.
The Sheriff’s Office provided the following tips in the instance that you feel uncomfortable or unsure if you are being pulled over by a legitimate law enforcement officer:
▪ Call 911. If you are uncertain about the identity of the person trying to stop you the 911 operator can help confirm or deny the identity of the person behind you and in the chance that it is an imposter they can dispatch a real law enforcement officer to assist you.
▪ Never attempt to “outrun” the vehicle pulling you over. Actually, slowing down is the proper action to take in order to indicate to the officer that you are not attempting to flee.
▪ Signal your intent to pull over. This can be done by engaging the correct turn signal or even your hazard flashers.
▪ Only pull over in a well lit, public place. If a public place is not available proceed to the closest place where you feel comfortable and safe.
“The Sheriff’s Office, and all law enforcement officers in general, are very considerate to the public’s concerns about these types of instances”, advised Sheriff Hanks. “Situations such as this concern us greatly and it is our chief duty to ensure that the safety of our citizens is of utmost importance”, added Hanks.
If anyone has had an encounter similar to this or may have information about this particular incident, they are urged to call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 229-896-7471 or your local law enforcement agency.
