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Friday, May 8, 2009

fake cop alert!

I'm taking a break from useful, helpful posts about how I fix my wardrobe to fit my not-so-orthodox body shape to tell you another complicated life story.
The other day I got pulled over by a fake police car!
I was driving on the highway and decreased my speed when I got to a bridge (long bridge over marsh - we call it the spillway - it is maybe 10 miles of alternating bridges and highway). I decreased my speed because - duh - the speed limit changed! Out of the blue this white Crown Vic hopped on my tail and started obnoxiously flashing headlights and tailgating. I got over as soon as I could, but there were slow dump trucks in the right lane so it took me a minute or two. To my surprise, the Crown Vic turned on an internal flashing light and pulled me over!
What did I do? Well, I was pretty sure this was not a police car because:
1. It was an older car
2. It had a tinted FRONT windshield, so dark I couldn't see in
3. It had HUBCAPS! Police cars don't have hubcaps!
But just in case, I pulled over anyway. However, I locked my doors! When the man in the car approached, it turned out to be a middle aged macho-looking guy in a T-shirt. I cracked my window and asked to see his badge - and he got very angry. He shouted at me that "slow grandmas [please, I'm 26] need to get off the road" and stormed away. But get this - when he pulled off, I saw that he did not have public plates. This was a "cop wannabe" who tries to make his car look like a police car just so he can pull girls over on the highway and feel important.
Now this was a potentially very dangerous situation, so I called 911 and reported the incident. Here is the advice the dispatcher gave me:
1. If you are being pulled over and you don't think this is a policeman, call the police and ask for a second squad car.
2. Don't get out of your car. Lock your doors and crack your window until you see a badge and know this is for real (once you're sure it is a real policeman do what he says!).
3. Fake pull-overs and impersonating a police officer are crimes!
So that's my drama for the week. Be safe gals!

1 comment:

  1. scary! ive heard of people showing up to peoples houses dressed as detectives with fake warrant letters and badges, then proceed to rob them.

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