Beware of man impersonating officer

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Marion County authorities are warning people to beware of a man impersonating a law enforcement officer.

A man reported to authorities that on Wednesday night he was pulled over by a burgundy colored Crown Victoria with red and blue lights in the windshield in the area of CR35 and SE 28th Street. He described the "officer" as being a white male, 5'10", "with a tummy", approximately 45-55 years of age with a goatee wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. The citizen was told he was pulled over due to faulty taillights. He said the "officer" then searched his vehicle and showed him two bags of white powder he claimed to find in his car. The citizen said he was then handcuffed and placed into the back seat which did consist of a cage like a marked patrol car. After a few minutes, the citizen said two other cars pulled up behind them. He said the headlights on one of the two cars were consistent with a Crown Victoria but did not display any red or blue lights. The citizen said he was then taken out of the car and released.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office, nor the Ocala Police Department or Florida Highway Patrol have any burgundy colored Crown Victoria’s with a cage inside. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center said they had no record of any traffic stops being conducted at that location at that time.

On Thursday evening, the Ocala Police Department received a report from a female who said she was stopped in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Silver Springs by a person in an SUV that had flashing blue lights near the headlights. The description of the "officer" was similar to the first incident. She said the "officer" asked her strange questions, took her license back to his vehicle but then returned it to her and released her.

The Sheriff’s Office encourages citizen to be aware of their surrounding and of suspicious vehicles in the Silver Springs and Baseline corridor. If you are pulled over by an unmarked vehicle and are not sure if it is an official law enforcement officer, call 911 and verify an officer’s location for their safety.