Police on lookout for imposter in Delaware

CLAYMONT, Del. - September 17, 2012 (WPVI) -- Officials fear a fake police officer, who has already stopped one woman in broad daylight, could strike again.

Police want the public to be aware this guy is out there - and they want to know if this has happened to anyone else.

The victim called police on Thursday afternoon after the impersonator pulled her over as she drove southbound on I-495 in Claymont, New Castle County, Delaware.

Fortunately, the woman started asking questions and scared the suspect off.

The victim told authorities that the man looked and acted like a police officer when he stopped her last Thursday around 1 p.m. He was driving a dark Chevy Impala with tinted windows. The driver flipped on flashing visor lights, just like are on many police cruisers.

"When she saw this, she immediately pulled over thinking she was being pulled over by a police officer," according to Sgt. Paul Shavack of the Delaware State Police.

A man wearing khakis and a black golf shirt with a badge hanging from around his neck approached her car and asked for identification. The woman told police she immediately noticed something didn't seem right.

"She started questioning him as to why he stopped her. Why he was following her for a certain distance," according to Shavack. "At that point, he asked her again for her ID, which he already had in his hands."

When the woman pointed this out, the man became nervous, returned her ID, and sped off in his car.

The suspect is described as:
White man
50-55 years old
5'8-5'9"
Large build
200-210 pounds
Brown hair and a mustache
Driving a Chevy Impala colored dark blue or black with dark tinted windows.

Authorities say trust your instincts and if you wonder whether the person pulling you over is actually law enforcement you should put on your flashers, contact 911 to try to confirm that it is actually a police officer behind you.

The woman in this case actually drove to her destination, gave it some thought, and called police the next day. This is the first report police have of anything like this. The woman was not injured, but in all these cases there is the concern that the impersonator had other more malicious intentions.

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