Whats the right thing to do

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So, today in Holbrook, MA a woman leaving a bank gets pulled over by what she believes is an actual undercover police officer. The man was not an officer but a thief who seen her leave a bank in Weymouth and robbed her. He told her he was armed, knew she had just left the bank and that there'd be no trouble if she cooperated. So, my question is this, what can I do or should I do when getting pulled over by an undercover police officer. I would never want to do anything that'd appear I didn't want to cooperate with an officer but I also don't want to put myself in harms way when there is something I can do to avoid this type of possible situation.
 
Did the undercover have lights, etc or did he just wave her over? If there is ever any question you should either call 911 (and keep driving) or drive to the closest police station. I'd be interested in hearing from a LEO on this subject as well.
 
Crazy, I tell my sister she gets pulled over, she should drive to a main road and pull over, call 911 asap if it feels funny, or drive to the police station like Bob_Sig 226 said. Tough situation if you owe a gun, I would suggest to try to get some type of training on something likes, god forbid you pulled out on a real cop
 
Dial 911 and have them either confirm its an officer behind you or have them guide you to the nearest police station.

If there's any doubt don't stop at least until you get to a populated area.
 
Even on a main road, you are on your own unless just by accident a real police car happens by and decides to stop. It's not like the average citizen is going to help.
 
Dial 911 and have them either confirm its an officer behind you or have them guide you to the nearest police station.

If there's any doubt don't stop at least until you get to a populated area.

That makes a lot of sense, but you just know a real officer is going to be very pissed if that happens. That's a big part of the problem as I see it. Who do you fear more, some random criminal or a really pissed off cop who just followed you 5 miles to the nearest police station? And for bonus points, say you are carrying too.
 
That's exactly what I don't want to do is anger the police officer so I was hoping for some input by one. Once you are pulled over you are trapped and he may possibly have your information if you hand him your license and registration. I was just wondering what police officers would like to happen, maybe drive with your flashers on while calling the 911 until they are confirmed?
 
There is no good answer to being pulled over by a fake cop.
If it is a real cop and you don't stop your screwed and may be looking at some serious charges.

Anyone posing as LEO should be put away for a long time to deter this crap from happening.
 
I know in some states it is legal to continue driving to a secure location. Apparently in the people's republic of MA it is not. I found this on the Hatfield, MA police website:

MYTH #6: An unmarked cruiser is trying to pull me over. Because I can't verify it is a real police officer I don't have to stop.
FACT #6: Wrong. Many police agencies, including the Hatfield Police Department, use unmarked vehicles to patrol roads and conduct traffic stops. If a vehicle is trying to pull you over and it is displaying flashing or rotating blue lights then you are required by law to stop for it. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of the police officer approaching your vehicle, lock all your doors. Roll down the driver's window just enough to carry on a conversation through the window and pass your license and registration to the officer. The officer is required by law to identify himself/herself as a police officer and have his/her badge displayed in a prominent location. Most police officers, including all Hatfield officers, also carry an official picture identification card issued by their department that you may ask to see, to verify his/her identity. If the officer is not in uniform or if you are in a very isolated or rural area, ask the officer to send another, marked cruiser with a uniformed officer to your location. Or ask the officer to follow you to the nearest police station or well-lit area. Once you have established that he/she is a police officer, you must comply with all lawful requests.

Either way, if it were my wife and she had a cop try to stop her in an unmarked car in the middle of nowhere, I would have her keep driving and call 911. We will deal with the consequences later if the cop wants to be a dick about it.
 
I would start driving slow, put my flashers on turn my inside lights on if it is dark out and call
the police on my cell.If it is a fake cop the moment he can see your on the cell he will be gone.
 
That makes a lot of sense, but you just know a real officer is going to be very pissed if that happens. That's a big part of the problem as I see it. Who do you fear more, some random criminal or a really pissed off cop who just followed you 5 miles to the nearest police station? And for bonus points, say you are carrying too.

FWIW I got that advice from a trooper in my drivers ed course.

And for the bonus, he should be happy I did the sensible thing and didn't use it [wink]
 
I would call 911 and ask for a uniformed officer in a marked cruiser to come, and refuse to interact with the UC until the uniform got there.
 
I would start driving slow, put my flashers on turn my inside lights on if it is dark out and call
the police on my cell.If it is a fake cop the moment he can see your on the cell he will be gone.


As an officer, I would say this is the most sensible course of action. Albeit if it is a thug he may be pissed that you are on your phone and ram you, shoot at you or get information from your plate registration and bother you at a later date.

Calling 911 is a good idea. In bigger cities, however, you may not be directed to the same dispatch center as the UC attempting to pull you over. So driving to a police station is a good idea, or tell the 911 operator that you are going to the nearest Fire Station, or EMT Center, they could probably even guide you to the correct position. I know in Phoenix every call made to 911 from a cell phone is tracked via GPS (if GPS is turned on), and every patrol unit is tracked with GPS they could get a uniformed officer to your location rather quickly. (Note: They -dispatch- do not record every call being made, only those made to 911, dispatch centers, and most gov't lines.)

If it turns out that it is a legitimate officer, be as kind as you possibly can, thank him for his patience, his service, and tell him to be safe. Remind him that he needs to return to his home safely just as you wish to do the same. If he (officer) approaches with an attitude, as hard as it may seem, be polite. Explain to him why you didn't pull over, tell him you respect the law and those that enforce it (even if you don't). Always have a good joke on hand, if you can ease his tension, it will go much smoother for you.

Now, I realize that there are dog bag officer's out there who will attempt to ruffle your feathers, and make things incredibly difficult for you, with these officers it is best to remain calm (you are most likely being recorded) and complain to his supervisor later. Chances are you aren't the first to complain. After awhile Officer Dog Bag will either quit or be fired.

Now, if it is a thug with blue lights, and you do stop...understand that while sitting, you won't get your gun out quick enough to be very defensible and turn the tide. It is better to loose some money and other material items then get injured and have thousands of dollars in medical bills, or worse be killed.

Be smart, be safe, and Stay Off the Wall (or obituary for you Non-LEO's)
 
So, today in Holbrook, MA a woman leaving a bank gets pulled over by what she believes is an actual undercover police officer. The man was not an officer but a thief who seen her leave a bank in Weymouth and robbed her. He told her he was armed, knew she had just left the bank and that there'd be no trouble if she cooperated. So, my question is this, what can I do or should I do when getting pulled over by an undercover police officer. I would never want to do anything that'd appear I didn't want to cooperate with an officer but I also don't want to put myself in harms way when there is something I can do to avoid this type of possible situation.

I take it this is her.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/...rook-police-searching-for-a-cop-impersonator/
 
There's a couple options first off immediately put your hazards on. Obey all traffic laws and drive to a well lit and populated area to pull over. Or, after turning hazards on call 911 and tell them whats going on, they will confirm if they have an officer pulling you over or not.
 
unmarked cruisers should NOT be used for traffic stops..... especially @ night.

i would not pull over for unmarked cruiser in BFE / backwoods.
 
according to the report, he has a blue light on roof of his car...usually real LEO lights are incorporated in the front grill. He approaches the car, motions he has a gun in pocket and for her to hand over the money.
At this point, it doesn't matter if he's real or not, it's an armed robbery.
 
according to the report, he has a blue light on roof of his car...usually real LEO lights are incorporated in the front grill. He approaches the car, motions he has a gun in pocket and for her to hand over the money.
At this point, it doesn't matter if he's real or not, it's an armed robbery.

Yeah, but you just let him get up on top of you with an engine that is now off, a gun that you dared not get your hand near and god knows what other disadvantages the situation begets. It's like home intruders screaming police as they enter the door. They get the advantage and they know it.
 
Yeah, but you just let him get up on top of you with an engine that is now off, a gun that you dared not get your hand near and god knows what other disadvantages the situation begets. It's like home intruders screaming police as they enter the door. They get the advantage and they know it.

It's worse in a traffic stop. I know I'm not a criminal, so anyone breaking into my house must be a criminal, no matter what they say.

But a traffic stop can happen to anybody, so you risk a fake LEO robbing or killing you, or, you can drive around looking for a better / safe place to stop and/or call the police all at the risk of pissing off a cop who has a lot of arbitrary power to make your life miserable.
 
But a traffic stop can happen to anybody, so you risk a fake LEO robbing or killing you, or, you can drive around looking for a better / safe place to stop and/or call the police all at the risk of pissing off a cop who has a lot of arbitrary power to make your life miserable.

[/Thread]
 
unmarked cruisers should NOT be used for traffic stops..... especially @ night.

i would not pull over for unmarked cruiser in BFE / backwoods.

I agree but some cities & towns do use umarked cruisers for traffic enforcement. However in these situations the officer is always in proper uniform. I would be extremely wary of an umarked car with an undercover officer doing traffic enforcement. Quite frankly it's not their job. If you serve the public in an undercover role then you should not be interacting with the public out of uniform if you are doing traffic enforcement.

Oddly enough something a little like this happened to a friend of mine years ago while cutting through Otis AFB (pre-9/11). An MP tried to pull him over in an unmarked car by waving his flashlight out the window of his car. My friend kept driving until a MP in a marked car with blue lights got behind him. Once that happened he pulled right over and when asked why he didn't pull over for the other MP he simply said "would you pull over for a guy waving a flashlight out the window? He could be some looney trying to rob or kill me". The MP saw his point and sent him out the nearest exit to the base.
 
I usually know what style un marked police vehicle they use, the Crown Vics, or something along those lines, and if you just look for grill lights, several other lights on top, not just one cheezy blue light, the way the front grill and lights seem to look, and especially if the guy coming over has a uniform on or not. Also, It seems as if though if I real officer was pulling you over, from my knowledge they dont seem to get out RIGHT away to come over. They sit for awhile call it, right some stuff down, etc. GRanted I know this could happen at night and its a bit harder, but I'd just use my eyes and ears to the best of my ability and go from there. I would do all this while NOT pulling over. Glad the lady is ok. Scum bag needs to get off the streets now.
 
I've lived in several states where partially marked and totally unmarked police cars are used for traffic enforcement by the state patrol and sheriff's departments.

In every single instance the officer emerging out of one is in full duty uniform. There is very, very little doubt who you are dealing with.

IF the guy getting out is not in full, recognizable uniform, I will hit the road again while calling 911 and will pull over once a second cruiser shows up with uniforms on board.
 
That makes a lot of sense, but you just know a real officer is going to be very pissed if that happens. That's a big part of the problem as I see it. Who do you fear more, some random criminal or a really pissed off cop who just followed you 5 miles to the nearest police station? And for bonus points, say you are carrying too.

That's just too bad. Suck it up, buttercup, there's not a lot of trust being thrown around lately, if they haven't noticed, lately. If I don't recognize an undercover, unmarked, or the actual cop, I'm making the 911 call to verify it is who they claim to be behind me. I'm sure they get notified that a verification call was made, so they have no reason to be pissed. They might have excuses galore to be pissy about me not instantly obeying like a servant, but tough s**t, it's my ass, not yours.

Hope they catch this dirtbag and flog accordingly. It's crap like this story that creates the additional paranoia <shiver>, I'm glad she was OK, relatively speaking. Probably pretty spooked afterwards, though.
 
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Dial 911 and have them either confirm its an officer behind you or have them guide you to the nearest police station.

If there's any doubt don't stop at least until you get to a populated area.

I was with you until your last sentence.
I've explained to my wife, and she's agreed to never EVER stop for an unmarked car. In CT, troopers on traffic detail must put their light bars on their cars.

Our agreed upon process is to pull into the right lane, if on the highway, and dial 911 and ask to be connected to the dispatcher that the officer would be talking to.
The dispatcher will know if the cop is real because he will be talking to the cop behind you if its real.

I don't really care if it pisses off the cop. My family's safety comes first.
If a CT officer is following protocol, this will not be an issue because the car will have a lightbar on it.

Don

p.s. don't be afraid to call, the cops are VERY eager to follow up on anyone impersonating. I once had a car try to pull me over with nothing more than wig wags. Eventually they just passed me. I was on the phone with 911 and they asked me if I could follow the other car safely. I was happy to help. I was pissed. Eventually a we passed a cop waiting on an entrance ramp and he pulled the two guys over. I don't know what happened to them, but I definitely remember the dispatcher getting very eager to catch the guys, when I told them what happened.
 
I know this is kind of an older thread but I just wanted to throw my two cents in. As a 911 dispatcher I can say I have never received any of these calls but I do see a flaw in dialing 911. You have to remember (and this at least applies to the state of Massachusetts) if you dial 911 from your cell phone you are going to be connected to one of two state police call centers before you are transferred to the proper town/police agency....and then if you don't know what town you are in you can get connected to the wrong town (or in my case I usually get calls for Eastham, and I work in Easton). So you might be looking at a few minutes until you get the proper police station. Granted most undercover cruisers are not doing motor vehicle stops and if they do they are usually with a marked cruiser....low pro cruisers all day long, but they are still marked. I've never posed this question to any of the police officers in my life, but I would probably put my hazards on and pull into a populated area/p-lot. It is a very scary situation, nonetheless.
 
I know in some states it is legal to continue driving to a secure location. Apparently in the people's republic of MA it is not. I found this on the Hatfield, MA police website:
MYTH #6: An unmarked cruiser is trying to pull me over. Because I can't verify it is a real police officer I don't have to stop.
FACT #6: Wrong. Many police agencies, including the Hatfield Police Department, use unmarked vehicles to patrol roads and conduct traffic stops. If a vehicle is trying to pull you over and it is displaying flashing or rotating blue lights then you are required by law to stop for it. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of the police officer approaching your vehicle, lock all your doors. Roll down the driver's window just enough to carry on a conversation through the window and pass your license and registration to the "officer". The officer is required by law to identify himself/herself as a police officer and have his/her badge displayed in a prominent location. Most police officers, including all Hatfield officers, also carry an official picture identification card issued by their department that you may ask to see, to verify his/her identity. If the officer is not in uniform or if you are in a very isolated or rural area, ask the officer to send another, marked cruiser with a uniformed officer to your location. Or ask the officer to follow you to the nearest police station or well-lit area. Once you have established that he/she is a police officer, you must comply with all lawful requests.
.

The red bolded text makes no sense

The blue is another thing, does the Hatfield Police also believes a perpetrating officer wouldn't or couldn't also make up a FAKE ID ?
 
It makes perfect sense. At least to people who really think gun laws work and criminals could never possibly shoot you on the side of the road or break your window with a crowbar/bat/baton because obviously your driver side window is completely invincible. [rolleyes]
 
I know this is kind of an older thread but I just wanted to throw my two cents in. As a 911 dispatcher I can say I have never received any of these calls but I do see a flaw in dialing 911. You have to remember (and this at least applies to the state of Massachusetts) if you dial 911 from your cell phone you are going to be connected to one of two state police call centers before you are transferred to the proper town/police agency....and then if you don't know what town you are in you can get connected to the wrong town (or in my case I usually get calls for Eastham, and I work in Easton). So you might be looking at a few minutes until you get the proper police station. Granted most undercover cruisers are not doing motor vehicle stops and if they do they are usually with a marked cruiser....low pro cruisers all day long, but they are still marked. I've never posed this question to any of the police officers in my life, but I would probably put my hazards on and pull into a populated area/p-lot. It is a very scary situation, nonetheless.

Your suggestion to pull over anyway is ridiculous. What good does a populated area do? People don't want to get involved. How involved do you think they will get if one party appears to be a LEO. The bottom line is that if you aren't sure its a cop, don't pull over. Your info re 911 is very helpful. Its good to know that it may take a few minutes to get to the correct PD. But again, if cops want to drive around in stealth, they deserve to be ignored. I live in a small town with a lot of volunteer firemen with blue light permits. Its common to see all kinds of cars all lit up. (It doesn't hurt that Whelen Engineering is 5 miles from my house and they effectively donate hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of lights and sirens to local first responders)

When I see what appears to be a civilian vehicle all lit up I yield immediately. But I will not stop, and neither will my wife. I'm happy to let the chips fall where they may.
 
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