GuyWithQuestions
Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2006
- Messages
- 451
I was doing research on different serial killers from a crime library website and found that quite a few serial killers tricked their victims into a vulnerable position by pretending to be cops. The only woman who escaped from the famous serious killer Ted Bundy was told by Ted that he was a cop and she needed to go with him to the police station for questioning. She didn't believe him at first because he wasn't in uniform, but then he pulled out a fake badge. I read on the crime library about another killer who had a fake FBI badge so that he could trick his victim into letting him come into her home. Just stumbling across those who've made fake IDs, it looks like anyone can make a fake police badge that looks real to the ordinary citizen. Also, there was a thread on THR that used the news story of a criminal who would put lights on his ordinary civilian vehicle, pull behind someone, flash the lights, and then when they pulled over because they believed it was one of those undercover cop cars with hidden lights, he would rob them. I read in an article that one way thieves rob tourists over seas is to pretend that they're cops.
So as a strategies and tactics question, how do you deal with these types of situations? If the situation seems fishy, you don't want to be dead, but you don't want to get in trouble for giving law enforcement officers trouble by showing skepticism. I understand that there are penalties for impersonating law enforcement, but if the person is punished after the fact, it's too late if he happens to be a killer! Is there a way that's legal to know for sure if someone's a fake?
I was talking to someone about this the other day and he said if a car that looks like a civilian's turns on some flashing lights, to drive to the nearest police station and then pull over. I'm not sure that that would be wise because if it's a real officer, you're in trouble for trying to flee from law enforcement. In the case where someone knocks on your door without a uniform but pulls out a badge and asks to come inside or to walk with him to a place not far away to ask some questions or claims he's making an arrest or needs to detain you, is it legal to ask to call the police station beforehand? If someone said that he was an undercover police officer and showed me a badge, I would feel very uneasy unless he also had a uniform on.
So as a strategies and tactics question, how do you deal with these types of situations? If the situation seems fishy, you don't want to be dead, but you don't want to get in trouble for giving law enforcement officers trouble by showing skepticism. I understand that there are penalties for impersonating law enforcement, but if the person is punished after the fact, it's too late if he happens to be a killer! Is there a way that's legal to know for sure if someone's a fake?
I was talking to someone about this the other day and he said if a car that looks like a civilian's turns on some flashing lights, to drive to the nearest police station and then pull over. I'm not sure that that would be wise because if it's a real officer, you're in trouble for trying to flee from law enforcement. In the case where someone knocks on your door without a uniform but pulls out a badge and asks to come inside or to walk with him to a place not far away to ask some questions or claims he's making an arrest or needs to detain you, is it legal to ask to call the police station beforehand? If someone said that he was an undercover police officer and showed me a badge, I would feel very uneasy unless he also had a uniform on.