ST. CHARLES, Mo — ST. CHARLES, Mo. — In light of charges being filed against a man in St. Charles for impersonating a police officer, many of you wanted to know, what can you do if you think you're being pulled over by a fake police officer?
We took that question to St. Charles County Police Department.
"We value your safety," says Captain Tom Koch of St. Charles County Police.
He recommends, at night, finding a place to pull over that is well lit and where other people can see you.
"Ask to see his identification. All of our officers are trained. Now I’m in full uniform right now, but if I’m asked to produce identification, both my badge and ID card," Koch said.
Koch said while you're doing that, keep your doors locked but windows down. If it still doesn't feel right, ask for their supervisor.
"Our officers are trained to comply with that request. They’ll get on the radio and have their supervisor respond," Koch said.
He said not complying with that request should make you extremely suspicious.
"If the officer starts giving you bad feelings like he doesn’t want to comply with that or starts acting unprofessional, if you happen to have a cell phone with you, call 911," he said.
For the driver of the fake police car in St. Charles, he said the biggest red flag was the fact the car didn't have any license plates.
"That was a clue there, with no license plate, that that probably wasn’t a police car," he said.
Koch also said it's extremely rare for undercover officers in unmarked vehicles to ever pull someone over.
"If they see something that’s a violation they feel that needs to be stopped, they should get on the radio and call a marked car to stop that vehicle. The only time they’re going to do that is if it’s a life or death situation," Koch explained.
He said as long as you're respectful, his officers at least, will comply with all of your requests.
"We want you to be safe," he said.
