A teen was arrested early Friday for impersonating a police officer and attempting to pull over a San Leandro man, police said.
The unnerving incident began when the victim was pulled over by someone in what looked like a silver Ford Crown Victoria, a type of car that is popular among police departments nationwide. They were in the vicinity of Bancroft and 136th avenues, said San Leandro police Lt. Rick DeCosta.
"They used some sort of artificial sound amplification to simulate a siren to get the person to pull over," he said.
The man, however, trusted his gut upon seeing the fake police officer and knew he had to get to away.
"The victim noticed that the person getting out of the car was actually wearing a sweatshirt with a hood and the person put the hood up over his head," DeCosta said. "The victim, at that point, realized this is not a police officer and fearing for his safety, the victim actually drove away."
DeCosta said the suspect and three others in the car made a U-turn and drove out of San Leandro, with the victim trailing and trying to get a license plate number.
In the end, the fake cop was busted by a real Alameda County sheriff’s deputy in an unrelated traffic stop about two miles away on 159th Avenue and Mateo Street but was then positively identified by the victim.
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The driver is a teen who now faces a felony charge of impersonating an officer. Two other juveniles were released to their parents and an 18-year-old in the car was arrested and will be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The vehicle was towed, DeCosta said.
