After a woman in Silver Spring was robbed of her purse and cell phone yesterday, Montgomery County Police are looking for a man who is impersonating one of their own.
While driving along Avenal Road yesterday, the 39-year-old victim was being followed by another car. The driver of that vehicle, according to a press release, was blasting his horn and signaling with his arm for the woman to pull over.
The woman stopped her car and was then approached by the driver of the tailing vehicle. According to WUSA, the driver then showed the victim a badge and identified himself as a police officer, despite the fact that his car did not bear any sirens or other markings that would identify it as a police vehicle.
According to the press release from the actual Montgomery County Police, the faux cop then rummaged through the victim’s car and “confiscated”—i.e., stole—her purse and phone before driving away.
Police say the suspect is a 26- or 27-year-old black male, about five-feet-10-inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds. He was reportedly wearing a black vest and black baseball cap with emblems resembling police badges, black cargo pants and black boots. His car, a small, black compact, was last seen driving along New Hampshire Avenue. And, of course, he’s not actually a cop.