Tulsa Police Arrest Two Men For Harassing Motorists

Wednesday, July 12th 2006, 5:56 am

By: News On 6

Two men were taken to the Tulsa County jail after Tulsa Police say they were riding around in a car with a sheriff's decal, harassing people. The fear was they were impersonating officers.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright looks at the case and explains what you can do when pulled over by a police vehicle.

A couple of Tulsa men created quite a stir when Tulsa Police say they were driving around in a white Impala that had a sheriff's decal and DARE logo on it. Tulsa Police say when they caught up to them, they smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and were staggering.

Tulsa Police Cpl Dan Miller: "They've been driving around in this car they supposedly bought from a used dealer, harassing people all night, is what they said." Investigators are trying to determine where this car was purchased.

Many agencies sell their old police vehicles at auction. Tulsa County Sheriffâ€™s Office Chief Deputy George Haralson: "Law enforcement agencies, they do surplus their vehicles, remove all the emergency equipment and in our case and TPD, remove all the door decal markings."

The concern of course is when people see men in a what looks like a sheriff's car, they worry those men are trying to impersonate an officer. Many men have done just that and used that appearance of authority to sexually assault women drivers.

As more departments add unmarked cars, that concern increases, however, there is a way to be a law abiding citizen and feel safe at the same time.

If you don't know if it's an officer, call 911 on your cell phone and dispatch will tell you if they're real. If you're still unsure, wave to the officer and not speeding, proceed to the nearest, well-lit, well-populated area and pull over there.

These men went to jail for a misdemeanor of being drunk in public and nothing worse. Impersonating an officer can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances.

The News on 6 talked to a relative of the two men arrested, who said they'd only had the car for a few days and planned to remove the graphics.

Oklahoma state law requires unmarked vehicles to have a number of red and blue lights in both front and back. Plus, officers doing routine traffic enforcement in unmarked cars, are required to be in full uniform.