Fake police car incidents prompt reminder from real Calgary officers

Don't be fooled by a weak strobe light real police cars won't cheap out on the flashing red-and-blues.

That's the message Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey had for Calgarians after a series of incidents in which vehicles were pulled over by men posing as police officers, and subsequently robbed.

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"Unmarked police vehicles will always have red and blue flashing lights and they'rebuilt into the vehicle's grill and the interior," Stacey told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"When we're conducting a traffic stop, the red and blue lights will be flashing, as will the vehicle's headlights."

Calgary Eyeopener4:16Fake police cars and how to spot them, with Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey

After several people were pulled over and robbed by "thugs" impersonating police officers, complete with strobe lights on their vehicle, Calgary police Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey explains how to spot a legitimate police vehicle.

Over the weekend,three vehicles pulled over when a car drove up behind them with a flashing strobe light, only to be robbed by the fake police officers and, in one victim's case, pulled from the vehicle and assaulted.

The incidents happened in the communities ofBeddington, Harvest HillsandNorth Haven.

Three men in their early 20s were later arrested, and Stacey noted the victims were even younger.

He said the suspects face criminal charges of impersonating a police officer.

Previous impersonations

It's not the first time someone has tried this.Stacey said it won't be the last, but noted incidents like this are rare.

Police did deal with several similar incidents in April 2013, in which a sweatpants-cladman affixed blue-and-red lights to his car and pulled several people over.

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Stacey said the difference in lighting will usually be apparent between a fake police car and a real one.

"It's quite a job to wire the police cars the way our mechanics do that and the bad guys, they're lazy, so they'll have a plug-in light that they'll just throw on the dash," he said.

"Probably 99.9 per cent of our traffic stops are done by officers in uniform," Stacey added.

"It is extremely rare, although possible, extremely rare for a police officer to do a traffic stop in plain clothes."