Woman warns community about man posing as police officer

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - A woman is spreading the word and warning drivers about what happened to her when she got pulled over by a man she believes was posing as a police officer.

18-year-old Melissa Baker says she was going 65MPH when she saw flashing lights from a motorcycle behind her.

As soon as the man walked up to her, she knew something was off. She says he wasn’t dressed like an officer, but she was so nervous about the whole situation she had no idea what do. Now she fears, this man could be targeting young women.

“When he pulled me over, he didn’t identify himself, he didn’t introduce himself. He said that I was speeding,” she said.

When the man who pulled her over approached her vehicle, Baker noticed he didn’t have a badge or a uniform that would tie him to any law enforcement agency. The man told her she was going 65MPH and asked for her information. Baker was unsure, but gave him her license. He told her that he ran her information and put her in for a warning.

″I didn’t get a citation. I didn’t get a receipt for anything,” she said.

Baker says he also changed his story and told her that she was going 80MPH. She thought something was off about the whole interaction so she called 911 to report it.

“The lady thought it was very suspicious that his clothing didn’t even really align with cops and he had airpods in. They said that they like to have a professional outlook on things when they’re approaching citizens,” she said.

Baker says the 911 dispatcher also checked to see if her name had been run through the system. They told her it never was.

Deputy Tyler Legg says a law enforcement officer should always have a badge and a photo identification card.

If you have any doubt that you are being pulled over by someone who isn’t a legitimate officer, ask to see their badge and identification card before you give them your information.

“They could maybe call 911 to speak with a dispatcher and specifically for the agency the person is claiming to be with and through that they can help make sure that the person who pulled them over is in fact a member of that department,” he said.

Baker says that she warned her neighbors about what happened because the man had her information and address.

Her concern now is that this could happen to other drivers and her advice to everyone is to be cautious.

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