Ever been pulled over in the county by a Barney Fife type? Good news. You now have a direct line to the St. Louis County Police Department Intelligence Unit (314-615-4692), who wants to hear all about your experience with a fake cop.
Freaked about a proliferation of unlicensed po-pos masquerading as the real deal in muni police forces, St. Louis County police chief Tim Fitch today announced that his department will get aggressive in pursuing cases against cop-fakers.
"We are very concerned that there may be individuals acting in the
capacity of a law enforcement officer in St. Louis County that are not
licensed by the state," Fitch says in a statement. "Anyone doing so is in violation of the law for impersonating a police officer. Anyone allowing that individual to work as a law enforcement officer without a license is also committing a crime. At this time, we do not currently have anyone under investigation nor am I referring to or implicating a specific municipality or law enforcement agency."
Fitch adds: "We have contacted St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch and he has instructed us to arrest the individual and make warrant application of those we find in violation."
It's only a misdemeanor to impersonate a cop. Of course, crimes like these can escalate... Remember Bill Jakob?
As an RFT investigation found, the man who terrorized the little town of Gerald, Missouri, had been playing cops and robbers without a license in other Missouri munis long before he went to Franklin County.
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