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Fake Police Officer Robs at least 4 People on the Streets
Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr
The LAPD is on the lookout for a man who impersonates a police officer and robs them. He's struck at least four times--twice in the Rampart area and once in Olympic and Pacific--over the last couple of months in various neighborhoods around the city. Usually operating in the late morning or early afternoon, he approaches victims dressed as a plain clothes police officer, complete with badge and gun. He'll search the victim and remove cash and wallets. He is described as a 35- to 45-year-old male Hispanic, 6 feet tall, weighing 230 pounds, seen wearing a dark polo-style shirt and blue jeans. However, the LAPD says he has used a few different vehicles including a gray 2005-2006 Pontiac Grand AM GT, a gold or tan 1998-2001 Mercury and a 2007-2009 gray-colored Buick.
This suspect is considered armed and dangerous, and detectives urge anyone who may have information about these crimes or who may have been a victim to contact the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 485-2511. After-hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text “CRIMES” with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on “Web Tips.” When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.” Tipsters may remain anonymous.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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