Man posed as officer to pull over cars, police say
— -- In hopes of drawing out more victims, authorities in Tucson, Arizona, have released dashcam video from the car of a man they say posed as a police officer to pull over drivers and search them.
The Tucson Police Department said that on Dec. 19, officers responded to a call that a man had stopped and searched three victims, and even handcuffed one of them.
In a news release posted to Facebook on Wednesday, police said that the man was driving a white, four-door vehicle with red-and-blue flashing lights installed near the visor of the front windshield and told the victims he was an undercover officer.
"Just watching the video on this one, he's doing a lot of stuff that we do, which makes you think he's been watching what police do," Tucson police Sgt. Pete Dugan told ABC affiliate KGUN-TV.
Police said they were later able to identify the man in the video and find him in Oro Valley.
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"The vehicle and several items used during the incident were located during the service of a search warrant. Inside the vehicle, detectives located a forward-facing dashboard camera. The incident that was reported to TPD was documented on that video," police said. "In addition, several other similar stops that occurred earlier in the day were also recorded."
The man was arrested and charged with kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to police.
Police declined to specify the make or model of the man's vehicle or release his name, saying they are still seeking out victims and want them to come forward with what they saw, not just what was heard on TV or read in the paper.
"Detectives are uncertain at this point if the suspect committed additional offenses prior to this date. Detectives are asking anyone who may have been stopped or pulled over by a similar unmarked vehicle to call (520) 719-2002 ext. 723," police said in the news release. "The suspect carried a handheld scanner on his belt, a radio earpiece and an expandable baton."
