Chemung County sheriff warns public someone is reportedly impersonating a police officer
The Chemung County Sheriff's Office is issuing a public alert that someone is apparently impersonating a police officer.
The sheriff's office issued the warning after receiving a report an individual was pulled over late Sunday night by someone who appeared to be a law enforcement officer.
The incident took place around 11 p.m. on Lower Maple Avenue in the Town of Ashland, according to Sheriff Bill Schrom.
The driver reported he was stopped and detained for 20 to 30 minutes before being told he was free to go, Schrom said.
The driver described the person who pulled him over as an Hispanic male, about 30 years old, about 5-feet-6-inches tall, with a thin build, goatee and short, dark hair.
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The subject was described as wearing black pants, similar to the type law enforcement officers wear, black tactical boots, a long-sleeved flannel shirt with a tactical vest on top of the shirt and a name tag.
The individual did not have any badge, patch or insignia that would identify as law enforcement, but he was wearing a black-colored gun belt that had a handgun or taser on it, a flashlight and pepper spray, the driver reported.
The person who reported the incident didn't notice a portable radio, handcuffs or a body camera.
The vehicle, described as an older model Ford Crown Victoria, was reportedly equipped with emergency lights on the inside of the front windshield, had a spotlight on the driver’s side, no front license plate and no other emergency lighting on the vehicle.
The person who was stopped reported the man asked him to step out of his car and then searched the interior before letting him go with a warning.
The driver then went home and told his mother what had happened, and she immediately reported it to law enforcement.
There are currently no suspects, Schrom said. Under New York state law, if a suspect is identified, he could be charged with first-degree criminal impersonation, a felony.
Schrom is asking anyone who was around the area of Lower Maple Avenue at that time and may have witnessed the vehicle stop, or anyone who may have been stopped in a similar fashion, to contact the Chemung County Sheriff's Office at 607-737-2933 or 607-737-2950.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Chemung County sheriff warns someone is impersonating police officer
