Fake cop pulls woman over in Rochester; police searching for suspect

ROCHESTER, Mich. (FOX 2) - When a woman was pulled over Monday night in Rochester, it felt unusual to her. That's because it was a phony cop who stopped her.

She was driving near Tienken and Washington when she was stopped around 8:30 p.m.

"She said it was kind of an unusual traffic stop because she didn’t really feel that she had done anything wrong," Rochester Police Chief Steven Schettenhelm said. "As soon as the individual stopped her the lights on the vehicle were turned off. The flashing red and blue lights. Individual walked up, she didn’t notice any patches or regular police type identification, and so she found that to be unusual."

The woman gave the suspect her driver's license and registration. He walked back to the car, which appeared to be a dark sedan, possibly an older Chevrolet Impala or a Ford Crown Victoria. 

The car had no visible police markings and the woman did not recall seeing a spotlight that squad cars have.

"She did what was very smart and said, ‘Could I have you bring another officer up, or can we move to another location?’ Just thought it was an unusual, unsettling incident and the person said she was all set, free to go. He got back in his car, and she drove away," Schettenhelm said.

Now police are looking for the fake officer.

He's described as a white man who is possibly in his 30s. He has dirty blond hair that is about 1 inch long on the top and buzzed on the side. He has slightly lighter-colored facial hair and a stubble beard. The man is about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and looked to weigh between 200 and 240 pounds.

He was wearing a blue jacket that may have been a windbreaker.