Police are investigating after a man allegedly impersonated an officer and stole from a victim in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
According to a Phoenix Police spokesperson, a victim was stopped by someone wearing clothing and equipment similar to that of an officer, but the uniform didn't have any identifiable patches.
"It's not common, but it does happen," said Sgt. Mercedes Fortune with the Phoenix Police Department.
Police say the suspect was driving a Crown Victoria vehicle with emergency lights.
"We understand that everyone that gets pulled over gets nervous," Fortune said. "It's one of those things that you're really not paying attention to, you know, the badge or things."
The suspect took the victim's property and left a short time later. After arriving back home, the victim called police.
The incident occurred near 27th Avenue and Bethany Home Road around 8:30 p.m.
Fortune is offering some tips if a driver is ever skeptical during a traffic stop.
"Look for name tags," Fortune said. "Look for police patches. Make sure that you ask for an ID because we all carry IDs identifying ourselves as police officers and we all carry business cards."
Just last week a similar incident happened in Tucson. During that incident, a woman was handcuffed and put in the back of the impersonator's car.
Police did not release any further information. The investigation is ongoing.
