Man Reportedly Initiates Traffic Stop While Impersonating Oklahoma Trooper

Rogers County deputies are on the lookout for a man they say is posing as a law enforcement officer. Sheriff Scott Walton said the man made a traffic stop last night in Talala.

Thursday, September 18th 2014, 1:09 pm

By: Tess Maune

Man Reportedly Initiates Traffic Stop While Impersonating Oklahoma Trooper

Rogers County deputies are on the lookout for a man they say is posing as a law enforcement officer. Sheriff Scott Walton said the man made a traffic stop last night in Talala.

The sheriff says the impersonator told the man he stopped that he was a trooper, and that he was pulled over for speeding and for having a radar detector.

The driver says the white Dodge Charger the impersonator was driving did not have a license plate on the back and was not marked, but it did have flashing lights, like a patrol car.

Just outside Talala, where the incident took place, traffic is pretty sparse.

"Not a lot of activity goes around out there," victim Raymond Phillips said. "People going back and forth to work or home."

Phillips was taking that route on Wednesday night about 7 p.m. when those dreaded flashing lights came up behind him, so he pulled over.

The man who stopped Phillips was driving a white Dodge Charger and said he was with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Phillips says he instantly knew something wasn't right - the guy didn't have a badge or a gun.

"He was out of uniform," Phillips said. "He had on just blue jeans, white t-shirt, black hat and that was it."

Then another red flag.

"He started cussing me, saying, 'You want me to effing take you to jail?'" Phillips said. "Every highway patrol [trooper] I've seen is always in uniform and I've never been disrespected by one."

When the impersonator walked back to his car with Phillips' driver's license, Phillips called OHP to ask if a trooper was working a traffic stop in Talala. Just as he was told no, the impersonator took off.

"I think he thought I was a girl and he was gonna try something," Phillips said.

With that in mind, Phillips chased after the guy and hit speeds of about 150 mph, he says.

"I just wanted to catch him," he said. "I wanted to catch him and get him off the road."

But Phillips ended the pursuit in the name of safety when he came to a stop sign and lost the man's car.

The sheriff says he can't say for sure what the motive was, but says it's possible the impersonator has a dangerous fascination with law enforcement.

“I think often it's a sickness that these people just can't control,” Walton said. “They keep doing it, and we certainly believe this is not a one-time incident. We think he's done it before and we think he's gonna do it again.”

Walton believes there could be more victims.

If you are pulled over while driving, the law enforcement officer always should have on a uniform and proper identification.