North Richland Hills Police investigator Larry
Irving offers some tips on how to verify you are
dealing with a real police officer:
•A police uniform will have a patch identifying
the city where the officer works.
•The officer will most likely be wearing a duty
belt along with a name tag and badge with an
identification number.
•Cars will be marked with the officer's agency.
•In North Richland Hills, unmarked units do not
make traffic stops.
•Be aware and call 911 if something seems
suspicious.
How to know when a real police officer pulls you over.
Most police departments, including Hurst, allow only uniformed officers driving marked cars to stop motorists. If you question the legitimacy of an officer, ask for his or her department or state photo identification card. Motorists alone at night should seek a well lighted and populated area before pulling over. Acknowledge to the police officer you know he is back there. You can also call 911 and stay on the line until the officer’s
identity is verified or other officers arrive.
A good example would be sticking your hand
out the window and waving, then pointing
ahead as you continue to a safe place.
As long as the officer knows you recognize
him, he will understand if you continue.
If it is not an officer, he will most likely use
this opportunity to leave before you get to a populated area.
PCDC advise on what you should do
if you think it is not a real police officer.
You have the right to call 911 and request a
market patrol car to make the traffic stop. Since
you are calling 911, there is a documented record as
to why you are not stopping right away. Most of the
time it will go to the same department of the
unmarked vehicle trying to stop you. If the
dispatcher does not know of any officers trying to
stop you, then they will investigate. If it is
another agency, the 911 dispatcher will still
dispatch a market unit to assist. So do not be
afraid to call 911 if you feel the vehicle behind
you is not a real police officer. If you do not have
a cell phone, pull into a lighted populated area and
obey all traffic laws with your hazards on getting
to that location.
Here at PCDC we want to say that
many people drive x-cop cars, the Crown Victoria is
more common as they dominate the police vehicle
market. We just want to say that many people drive
these cars because they are cheap to buy used or
still want a real RWD American car. The few that
give owners of the Crown Vic a bad image are always
going to be out there, same with the Charger or
Impala. Most fake cops tend to drive vehicles other
then these three from what I have seen in the news.
Always still follow the advise given by the police,
call 911 if you fell it is not a real cop.
Google for fake cop news stories