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Impersonating a police officer?


Dizzledan

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Driving on 270 on my way to work this morning, and a silver Chevy and beige Hyundai roar past me with lights and a fake-sounding siren blaring. People were getting out of their way, even pulling over on the shoulder for them. They pulled off to get onto 315-S. There was a trailer flipped over, maybe responding to that I guess.

I cant help wondering given the civilian style plates, and lack of any official markings if these were just two guys who want to go places fast and mess with people.

Are there any civilian style cars that get authorized to use police lights/siren?

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There is a black Evo 8 that used to roll around the Elyria and Sheffield area waiting for people to race him. People must have gotten used to seeing a black Evo with lights on pulling over ricers and stopped racing him because I haven't seen it in a while.

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Seized vehicles are sometimes used for UC duty, but UC cars don't have lights and sirens. Surveillance vehicles would, but not a UC car. That kind of blows their cover.

It's rare for nice cars to sit in impound very long unless they're evidence though. I am working on a case where the detective explicitly told the defense attorney he wanted the client's vehicle as a UC car. He was half joking, but only half...

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Wow I had no idea. I've seen the drug bust shows on TV where the SWAT teams will use a tinted out minivan as a raid vehicle, or as an UC vehicle for drug buying. Never thought to think that far.

Edit: Can these cars pull traffic over for violations? I always thought it had to be a marked cruiser in order to stop traffic. Otherwise anyone with $50 of LEDs and a Whelen box could impersonate.

Edited by Dizzledan
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Wow I had no idea. I've seen the drug bust shows on TV where the SWAT teams will use a tinted out minivan as a raid vehicle, or as an UC vehicle for drug buying. Never thought to think that far.

Edit: Can these cars pull traffic over for violations? I always thought it had to be a marked cruiser in order to stop traffic. Otherwise anyone with $50 of LEDs and a Whelen box could impersonate.

Yes. Our unmarked car has dash and grill lights and a normal issued style plate.

And technically they can pull over for raffic. The ORC reads that a vehicle that is primarily used for traffic enforcement must be marked and have a light on top. Nothing states an unmarked, or slick top, can't enforce traffic just can't be its primary function. Most departments I'm aware of don't allow unmarked to do traffic for the reason that people may think someone is impersonating an officer

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Most departments don't have many strictly surveillance vehicles, but even then they have lights and sirens. It's the STING vehicles that have nothing in them (except a camera or two).

Most UC cars you actually see have LED's that are very small and unnoticeable. The current ones in use go in the headlights and change red/blue and they are brighter than overhead takedowns.

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Most departments I'm aware of don't allow unmarked to do traffic for the reason that people may think someone is impersonating an officer

This!!

And all of the sudden you have everyone who gets a ticket thinking they are a lawyer and trying to take it to trial, mostly wasting city money due to feeling "the car had no markings that's not fair".

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There were some very stealthy cars like this in my hometown, eventually you made a note of them when passing by major events. Like a random LBTS 10yr old teal base model Grand Am.

I heard stories over the years that if you actually did something dumb enough traffic-wise to engage them, they would pull you over and just sit there until a marked car showed up.

I saw one at Rock on the Range too. Pulling in the lot I was behind it and wondering who the hell puts a "Click it or Ticket" sticker on their LBTS aging american mid-size shitbox. Walking from my truck to the gate I saw it lit up with a kid bent over the hood in handcuffs. Couldn't even tell which of the guys standing around it were the cops.

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Wow I had no idea. I've seen the drug bust shows on TV where the SWAT teams will use a tinted out minivan as a raid vehicle, or as an UC vehicle for drug buying. Never thought to think that far.

many departments will also have a yellow crown vic (or share one with neighboring departments) that is used undercover as a cab. Prostitution busts and such.

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Had a couple help me in an unmarked Malibu on time when I lost cargo from my roof rack braking to avoid a deer. They had lights etc and were in plain clothes. Said they were with the state and used their vehicle to give me a safe space to get my crap sorted out.

Yesterday saw another similar Malibu with two smartly dressed guys OC's like it was no big thing. Detectives I guess.

Called in an unmarked crown vic pulling over a car on the freeway once and the dispatcher took the plate and description of the vehicle and said it was one of theirs.

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