Why Do People Impersonate Police Officers?

[Chrysler375Freeway]

After the arrest of a Maryland man for impersonating a police officer and the seizure of police related gear that said "Maryland Marshal" following him pulling over a driver after flashing a badge and turning on white interior lights, it begs the question: why do people continue to impersonate police officers? I know why people like Jeremy Dewitte, Jerardson Mackey and others do this, but don't understand why people like those I mentioned and in general do this, knowing the risk of getting in trouble with the real police. It just seems like a terrible idea, considering the amount of police officers that are killed or injured in the line of duty.

[Max Rockatansky]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

I saw this with a guy in Michigan where his car said "Emergency Response." It was unusual since it had green lights, and then saw the more notorious Jeremy Dewitte, after encountering one of his contractors on a Florida vacation passing through Orlando. It was clear they weren't police officers based on their behavior, and even got to see Motor 1 himself flying by on a motorcycle. It's almost as if these posers do this without understanding the consequences of their behavior.

[Scott5114]

Often people impersonate an officer because they want to commit some other crime, like murder, rape, robbery, assault, what have you, and they think being perceived as a cop will make doing so easier. If you're already planning on committing a crime like that, is adding a second crime on top really gonna pink your conscience?

[Chrysler375Freeway]

Often people impersonate an officer because they want to commit some other crime, like murder, rape, robbery, assault, what have you, and they think being perceived as a cop will make doing so easier. If you're already planning on committing a crime like that, is adding a second crime on top really gonna pink your conscience?

The first crime was used by the perpetrator of the Nova Scotia attacks in 2020, and of course, Jeremy Dewitte and his contractors used the Florida funeral escort statute (316.1974) as an end-run around Florida's police impersonation laws, because Dewitte wanted to be a cop so bad, but couldn't become one because he was: a. A felon and b. A registered SO (the latter of which was never mentioned on Dr. Phil). Of course, Dewitte said we're not impersonating. Another thing: they don't just impersonate to commit violent crimes. Some of these impersonators can't become police officers because of some kind of criminal record, like Jeremy Dewitte and Jeremy Kurck, and add on by impersonating a police officer. Of course, Dewitte said on Dr. Phil that him and his contractors weren't impersonating, and said some law enforcement still believed that they were impersonating even though they used purple and amber lights. It wasn't the lights, it was the way himself and his contractors behaved that got them in hot water for impersonating a police officer. So many others have followed the first script (impersonate to commit other crimes) or second (impersonate because they can't be a police officer due to priors).

[GaryV]

Some may impersonate a police officer because it gives them some sense of power over others that they crave.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

It's like any other risk-inherent activity - see what you can get away with. People also enjoy the power that comes with being a cop, and if they normally have no perceived power over others in their lives they're probably looking for ways to feel like they can push people around.

[tmoore952]

It's like any other risk-inherent activity - see what you can get away with. People also enjoy the power that comes with being a cop, and if they normally have no perceived power over others in their lives they're probably looking for ways to feel like they can push people around.

Or in a more sinister view of the topic, to gain access and abuse certain members of the opposite sex (maybe known to them, maybe not - I'm guessing not though). I have heard of plenty of cases where this was a part of it.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

Some may impersonate a police officer because it gives them some sense of power over others that they crave.

Outside of this, security guards have also impersonated police, and security companies have also been accused of pretending to be police-because of cars being similar to police, and uniforms that are similar to that of police officers.

[hotdogPi]

From one of my favorite threads on the forum:

It's a pretty well-documented matter of social engineering that if someone dresses and acts the way someone is expected to, most people will not question them. If John McCain did direct traffic at an Arizona Diamondbacks game, chances are he wouldn't be called on it–most people would just rationalize it as someone who just looked a lot like John McCain.

In any case, he could probably still hold one of those STOP/SLOW paddles.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Some may impersonate a police officer because it gives them some sense of power over others that they crave.

Outside of this, security guards have also impersonated police, and security companies have also been accused of pretending to be police-because of cars being similar to police, and uniforms that are similar to that of police officers.

It's been a few years since I've seen one but I would see cars operated by General Security Services Corportation that had "GSSC - MIDWEST PATROL" decals on them that made me wonder if there was some interstate policing agreement between some Midwestern states or something. They're just a private for hire securtity company and no such interstate patrol agreement exists; "Midwest Patrol" was a former name they used.

[kphoger]

To arouse less suspicion when putting phony parking tickets on the windshields of those who leave their vehicles blocking sidewalks?   

[bugo]

Because cops have virtually no rules that they have to follow, and they can literally get away with anything, including cold blooded murder. Perhaps they want to feel some of that power.

[CtrlAltDel]

Most fake cops are sex perverts.  Using the impersonation of the police to capture females.  The solution, of course, is obvious.  Cease pulling people over for random tax purposes.  End it, and save lives and stop rapes.

Dude.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

After the arrest of a Maryland man for impersonating a police officer and the seizure of police related gear that said "Maryland Marshal" following him pulling over a driver after flashing a badge and turning on white interior lights, it begs the question: why do people continue to impersonate police officers?

Generally to gain an advantage over other people, same as real traffic cops. 

Most fake cops are sex perverts.  Using the impersonation of the police to capture females.  The solution, of course, is obvious.  Cease pulling people over for random tax purposes.  End it, and save lives and stop rapes.

. It just seems like a terrible idea, considering the amount of police officers that are killed or injured in the line of duty.

25 shot, 11 car crashes (including 3 cop at faults), 16 others including having an heart attack at work, etc.

Dewitte is an RSO, but the videos out there are him yelling at people, and even a fight with his wife captured on doorbell camera, which went viral after it was uploaded to YouTube, along with fights with his former extramarital girlfriend. None of it is him being predatory towards females, although that's what made him an registered SO in the first place.

[triplemultiplex]

Because vigilantism is something everyone fantasizes about at some point.  Some people are just more committed to the bit.

[HighwayStar]

I've seen some people who were perhaps not explicitly trying to impersonate an officer, but had gone to great lengths to make themselves look like one and create some ambiguity as to the fact.
In these cases they were security personnel in bad areas hired to protect shops and the like. The appearance was clearly intended to make people unsure of who they were dealing with, while  being off enough to provide a presumptive defense against being charged with impersonating law enforcement.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

I've seen some people who were perhaps not explicitly trying to impersonate an officer, but had gone to great lengths to make themselves look like one and create some ambiguity as to the fact.
In these cases they were security personnel in bad areas hired to protect shops and the like. The appearance was clearly intended to make people unsure of who they were dealing with, while  being off enough to provide a presumptive defense against being charged with impersonating law enforcement.

In a St. Louis case, 90% of a security company's employees were off-duty LEOs, but I don't think charges were ever pursued against the remaining 10% for impersonating a police officer while patrolling in certain neighborhoods that pay this company.

[Molandfreak]

Most fake cops are sex perverts.  Using the impersonation of the police to capture females.  The solution, of course, is obvious.  Cease pulling people over for random tax purposes.  End it, and save lives and stop rapes.

We get it. You hate taxes, and that's the entire extent of your personality.

[jeffandnicole]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

I saw this with a guy in Michigan where his car said "Emergency Response." It was unusual since it had green lights, and then saw the more notorious Jeremy Dewitte, after encountering one of his contractors on a Florida vacation passing through Orlando. It was clear they weren't police officers based on their behavior, and even got to see Motor 1 himself flying by on a motorcycle. It's almost as if these posers do this without understanding the consequences of their behavior.

To be technical, this person did nothing wrong, and there's no consequences if the person isn't actually trying to act like a cop.  "Emergency Response" can have numerous meanings (Look at a plumbing van or roofing truck, and you may see something along the lines of 24 Hour Emergency Response or similar). Green lights have no emergency meaning in any state.  There's a lot of latitude on what someone can write on their vehicle, and how someone can add auxiliary items to their vehicle.  As long as they're not trying to pull someone over or act as a cop in any way, this person's car is perfectly legal.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

I saw this with a guy in Michigan where his car said "Emergency Response." It was unusual since it had green lights, and then saw the more notorious Jeremy Dewitte, after encountering one of his contractors on a Florida vacation passing through Orlando. It was clear they weren't police officers based on their behavior, and even got to see Motor 1 himself flying by on a motorcycle. It's almost as if these posers do this without understanding the consequences of their behavior.

To be technical, this person did nothing wrong, and there's no consequences if the person isn't actually trying to act like a cop.  "Emergency Response" can have numerous meanings (Look at a plumbing van or roofing truck, and you may see something along the lines of 24 Hour Emergency Response or similar). Green lights have no emergency meaning in any state.  There's a lot of latitude on what someone can write on their vehicle, and how someone can add auxiliary items to their vehicle.  As long as they're not trying to pull someone over or act as a cop in any way, this person's car is perfectly legal.

The charges were dropped against that individual (even though he had a run-in with the sheriff himself), while Dewitte got in trouble because of his body camera catching everything he did, like banging on the hood of a car (along with using profanity and telling him to pull forward and stay while he left), challenging a Porsche driver to a fight, and driving down the road at dangerous speeds (how he didn't get charged with numerous charges of reckless endangerment for the way he operates his motorcycle is beyond me).

[Molandfreak]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

I saw this with a guy in Michigan where his car said "Emergency Response." It was unusual since it had green lights, and then saw the more notorious Jeremy Dewitte, after encountering one of his contractors on a Florida vacation passing through Orlando. It was clear they weren't police officers based on their behavior, and even got to see Motor 1 himself flying by on a motorcycle. It's almost as if these posers do this without understanding the consequences of their behavior.

To be technical, this person did nothing wrong, and there's no consequences if the person isn't actually trying to act like a cop.  "Emergency Response" can have numerous meanings (Look at a plumbing van or roofing truck, and you may see something along the lines of 24 Hour Emergency Response or similar). Green lights have no emergency meaning in any state.  There's a lot of latitude on what someone can write on their vehicle, and how someone can add auxiliary items to their vehicle.  As long as they're not trying to pull someone over or act as a cop in any way, this person's car is perfectly legal.

The charges were dropped against that individual (even though he had a run-in with the sheriff himself), while Dewitte got in trouble because of his body camera catching everything he did, like banging on the hood of a car (along with using profanity and telling him to pull forward and stay while he left), challenging a Porsche driver to a fight, and driving down the road at dangerous speeds (how he didn't get charged with numerous charges of reckless endangerment for the way he operates his motorcycle is beyond me).

Yeah, just having a vehicle that vaguely looks like a police car isn't a problem, and could be beneficial if it's a legitimate security agency monitoring a property.

Dewitte is a dolt who got what was coming to him, but there are numerous videos I've seen where it seemed like the police were deliberately being as uncharitable as possible to him, such as interpreting Florida laws on red flashing lights to mean the light lenses can't be red. The guy actually broke laws, blatantly committed insurance fraud, and put people in danger on a regular basis. There was no reason to manufacture reasons to arrest him.

[roadman65]

One of the Dragnet reruns covered a case like this. It had Sergeant Friday and Officer Gannon both find a man pretending to be a cop so they can arrest him for being such. Ironically the man impersonating a cop, actually was well praised for being a good citizen to people of the community as he did help.

Also, Dragnet was actually about real life LA Police cases. So it actually happened.  Just the names changed to protect the innocent of that episode and all of Dragnet episodes.

[Chrysler375Freeway]

I only ever encountered this once with a shoplifter.  It was obvious the guy wasn't a police officer just from his unkempt appearance and twitchiness.  It wouldn't have mattered if he was since he stole a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

I saw this with a guy in Michigan where his car said "Emergency Response." It was unusual since it had green lights, and then saw the more notorious Jeremy Dewitte, after encountering one of his contractors on a Florida vacation passing through Orlando. It was clear they weren't police officers based on their behavior, and even got to see Motor 1 himself flying by on a motorcycle. It's almost as if these posers do this without understanding the consequences of their behavior.

To be technical, this person did nothing wrong, and there's no consequences if the person isn't actually trying to act like a cop.  "Emergency Response" can have numerous meanings (Look at a plumbing van or roofing truck, and you may see something along the lines of 24 Hour Emergency Response or similar). Green lights have no emergency meaning in any state.  There's a lot of latitude on what someone can write on their vehicle, and how someone can add auxiliary items to their vehicle.  As long as they're not trying to pull someone over or act as a cop in any way, this person's car is perfectly legal.

The charges were dropped against that individual (even though he had a run-in with the sheriff himself), while Dewitte got in trouble because of his body camera catching everything he did, like banging on the hood of a car (along with using profanity and telling him to pull forward and stay while he left), challenging a Porsche driver to a fight, and driving down the road at dangerous speeds (how he didn't get charged with numerous charges of reckless endangerment for the way he operates his motorcycle is beyond me).

Yeah, just having a vehicle that vaguely looks like a police car isn't a problem, and could be beneficial if it's a legitimate security agency monitoring a property.

Dewitte is a dolt who got what was coming to him, but there are numerous videos I've seen where it seemed like the police were deliberately being as uncharitable as possible to him, such as interpreting Florida laws on red flashing lights to mean the light lenses can't be red. The guy actually broke laws, blatantly committed insurance fraud, and put people in danger on a regular basis. There was no reason to manufacture reasons to arrest him.

And another thing about Dewitte: he is a registered you-know-what (and spells his name wrong on his "uniform" to hide this from people he confronts as well as funeral directors), and he has been arrested numerous times for failure to register, but of course, he refused to let a former military police officer (who goes by the YouTube name Sergeant Blue Bacon) bring it up when he (Dewitte) went on Dr. Phil (where he (Dewitte) scored -37 on a polygraph test that wasn't endorsed by the show, the worst that anyone on the show has ever performed), and refused to let that same former MP bring up his (Dewitte's) stolen valor.

[hbelkins]

I think one reason that people impersonate officers is to enjoy professional courtesies extended to LEOs. In addition to getting discounts at stores and restaurants, many times cops will let other cops go and not write them speeding tickets outside of their "home jurisdiction" because of such.