Even if the citation is completely valid, getting pulled over sucks. Traffic stops are high-anxiety events where the threat of police violence is ever-present, it takes forever to get back on the road, and tickets are expensive. At the same time, though, if you were speeding, you were speeding. Unless you weren’t, and the cop who pulled you over is only pretending to be an officer. It may sound crazy, but that’s exactly what’s happening in certain counties in northern Georgia and western North Carolina, 11Alive reports.
Details are still scarce, but authorities believe the same man has been impersonating an officer in Georgia’s Towns County and Union County, as well as in Cherokee County, North Carolina. The Towns County Sheriff’s Office says he uses a black Dodge Charger with tinted windows and one emergency light, as well as a tinted cover that obscures his license plate.
It’s also not clear from local reporting what he gets out of pulling people over, as news articles don’t mention what he does after he pulls them over. You would think that if it was something horrible such as extorting cash or sexual favors from drivers, that would have at made the news. Even if he just thinks it’s fun to terrify random people, that’s still wildly illegal and the kind of total asshole behavior that’s likely to end in violence one way or another.
The good news is, authorities have a description of the suspect, as well as a partial image. He’s reportedly relatively short with brown hair, wears a uniform that’s gray and dark blue and has a vest with a radio and handcuffs.
That may not be the most convincing outfit in photos, but considering how stressful traffic stops are, especially at night, it’s understandable that drivers may not be thinking clearly in the moment. Still, all legitimate officers will have a badge, and law enforcement wants to remind people their cars are clearly marked as law enforcement vehicles. If the driver of an unmarked car does attempt to pull you over, they also encourage calling 911 to verify the legitimacy of the stop.