The California Highway Patrol issued a warning and reminder this week to drivers to be cautious and aware of a possible police impersonator on a local freeway.
CHP Officer Leon Lopez confirmed to Banning-Beaumont Patch on Wednesday a recent case in which a Beaumont woman says a black, unmarked car tried to initiate a traffic stop on her while she was driving on Interstate 10 in the Redlands area.
The incident happened on May 22, according to Cecelia Marquez, who said the man in the vehicle-- which was equipped with flashing lights on the dash similar to a police unit and had a sticker on the back that looked like a sheriff's badge-- followed her all the way from Fontana to Redlands.
Marquez tells Patch she hesitated from the moment the man got behind her near Sierra Avenue.
"I merged over to the fast lane, and all of a sudden he's on me," she told Patch, adding that she was going with the flow of traffic. "And then the lights came on... I could see a tall, scruffy guy telling me to 'pull over'."
But Marquez says she didn't pull over because her gut told her something wasn't normal with this situation.
"I've had my share of being pulled over," she said. "But when he pulled alongside me [after she hadn't pulled over when he was behind her], he looked creepy."
After several minutes of the car driving alongside her and even going in front of her with the flashing lights while applying brakes, Marquez says she began taking photos of the cruiser and called 911.
"I just dialed 911, and then all of a sudden he went to get off at Ford Street [in Redlands]," she said.
Marquez said the 911 dispatcher sent an officer to meet her near the Ford Street exit where she had exited as well, and that officer told her the man wasn't in law enforcement upon running the plates seen in the photographs she had taken.
"This young lady did an excellent job with the fact that when those lights turned on… she was extremely heads up to ID that the vehicle looked a little out of the norm," Officer Lopez told Patch. "She did he right thing to continue to drive and call 911."
Lopez said the CHP is actively investigating the incident as an officer impersonation, however, as of Wednesday evening, no arrests had been made in the case.
“Obviously when something like this happens in the community, we take it seriously," he said.
“So what we would remind people is-- obviously you want to follow the law-- so if there is any suspicions that the vehicle following them is not a law enforcement vehicle, by all means call 911," he said, adding that a dispatcher would be able to tell you if the vehicle is registered to a legitimate law enforcement agency.
Lopez said it's also important to take note of exactly where you're at if something like this ever happens to you; another thing he said Marquez did an excellent job with.
A similar case was reported in Redlands on May 17, when a school bus was pulled over by a purported false law enforcement officer. However, Redlands police later determined that the man was indeed a sworn cop.
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