Police warn of phony cop

Police are warning residents that a man is pulling over motorists and pretending to be an undercover police officer.

According to officials with the Camarillo Police Department, the fake officer is a white male in his early 30s. He drives a white sedan with a searchlight mounted on the driver's side window.

On Fri., Oct. 26 at 9:30 p.m., the man flashed his car lights at a teenage driver and a female passenger, prompting the teen driver to pull over at the corner of Chapel Drive and Marker Avenue.

Claiming to be a police officer, the man told the driver that the vehicle's registration had expired and that the car would have to be towed. He ordered the driver to leave the car behind and go home, police said.

The teen took his car keys but left the vehicle with the man, believing him to be a police officer. The man and a suspected accomplice hotwired and stole the vehicle; the teen driver called the police shortly after, authorities said.

Senior Dep. Julie Novak said there are a number of ways to confirm that someone is a legitimate police officer. Novak said that an officer-whether in a marked or unmarked car-must use a red light to pull over a driver.

She said that all officers will show a badge at a traffic stop and will have an identification card with a photograph and ID number.

Novak added that if a driver is pulled over by someone in an unmarked car and is not sure it's a legitimate police vehicle, they should stop in a welllit public place. Motorists uncertain of the identity of an officer in plain clothes can call the department at (805) 654-9511 to confirm the officer's ID number.

-Daniel Wolowicz