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Officer Imposter Targets Women Motorists

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Release Date: August 26, 2008

Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a man this past weekend moments after he used an emergency light to pull over a woman motorist.  Detectives say the man was impersonating a law enforcement officer and may have stopped other women drivers.

About 6 o’clock last Saturday night, Deputies received a call about a man using an emergency light to stop motorists in north Shelby County near Raleigh.

Sheriff’s Deputies patrolled the area and saw a white Chrysler 300 with a flashing light in the windshield.  The Chrysler was parked behind a Dodge Neon on Old Raleigh-Millington Road near Addington Drive. 

Deputies saw a man standing beside the driver’s door of the Neon.  Although not in uniform, he had a gold badge on a chain around his neck.  He also had a pistol strapped to his side.

The woman told Sheriff’s detectives she stopped when she saw the flashing light inside the man’s car.  She said he asked to see her driver’s license and then asked whether she had a boyfriend.

During questioning, the suspect told Detectives he stopped the woman so he could get her phone number.

The man also said he was a bounty hunter.  Although he had a valid permit to carry a gun, his bounty hunter credentials and his Tennessee Armed Security Guard License had expired.

Detectives aren’t releasing the suspect’s name or picture.  Investigators say his picture will be used in photo line-ups for possible victims.

Any driver, especially a woman, who might have been stopped recently by the Chrysler with a flashing light, is asked to call detectives with the Sheriff’s Office General Investigation Bureau at (901) 545-5600.

Motorists who are stopped by an officer not in uniform should ask for a photo identification card and if necessary, request to talk in person to the officer’s supervisor.

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