Authorities are investigating after a woman reported being pulled over by a man who was possibly impersonating a police officer.
The incident happened around 5:00 Wednesday morning on Interstate 80 just outside of York, Nebraska. The woman told law enforcement that a dark-colored car with emergency lights pulled her over and started asking strange questions, like if she worked at a York interchange motel. Although this supposed officer never asked for her license and registration, he told the woman to get out of the car while he searched it. The man then allowed the woman to leave, without any further indication of why he pulled her over.
The woman then reported the incident to the York County Sheriff Dale Radcliff, telling the sheriff that the man was wearing a dark green uniform and baseball cap. Radcliff determined none of his officers were in the area at the time of the incident, so Seward Sheriff Joe Yocum was also contacted. After discovering none of his deputies were in the area either, he contacted a number of other offices to check with them. The Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska Game and Parks and Grand Island State Patrol all said none of them had anyone working in the area during that time either.
Cody Thomas with the Nebraska State Patrol tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that if you are eve unsure if the vehicle attempting to pull you over is legitimate, you have options. "You can certainly call 911 and they'd be able to verify if that person is actually an officer or a trooper."
Thomas also says if you feel unsafe, you don't have to pull over immediately. He suggests still calling 911 and finding a safe place to stop your car. "If you're inside a community, you can go to a police station and the officer will more than understand in that situation. If you're out on the interstate that is a little more difficult to do, so you can go to a rest area or a well lit area and if it is a legitimate law enforcement officer they'll completely understand that."
If you think you were pulled over by an impostor, Thomas says to report it immediately. "This is a concern for us if there are people out there impersonating law enforcement officers. That's something that we'll also want to keep an eye out for as well, because that is a serious situation."
If anyone has any information about the incident, they are encouraged to contact the York County Sheriff's Office at 402-362-4927, the Seward County Sheriff's Office at 402-643-4578 or the Nebraska State Patrol at 402-471-4545.