Security Ripcord

Most of you might not know that there was a fake police officer pulling people over and getting free meals in the area s surround League City, Texas which is just southeast of Houston, Texas. In fact the news did not pick up the story until December 12th, 2007 when my wife’s oldest friend was pulled over and questioned by the imposter.

The cool thing about this story is that the news coverage did not help capture this person. In fact, it was an email from my wife’s friend to several of her friends in League City. Then the viral marketing began. Apparently, this email spread through League City like wild fire and a strong wind. Eventually it got back around to a woman who thought the description of the individual, his clothes, and his vehicle sounded very similar to her husband. After that it was game over. The police had the man in custody that evening and now the world is safer, all because of one email.

The concept of phony police officers is not new. I’m sure that posing as a person in a position of authority goes back to the advent of civilization. But how can law abiding citizens protect themselves from falling victim to these types of persons? After all, it is the natural instinct of most law abiding citizens to not question authority as was the case with my wife’s friend. However, people should act on their suspicious if they feel uncomfortable about a situation. I have a few recommendations for people who find themselves on a lonely street, in the middle of nowhere, and feel uncomfortable about letting a stranger approach their vehicle and, verbally or physically, remove them from the vehicle.

Disclaimer: All situations are different. Use your own judgment as to how to protect yourself. These are merely suggestions to get you thinking down the right path. YOU are responsible for your personal security.

• Cell phones are your friends. Dial 911 and start talking with the person on the other end. Police departments usually know the exact location of all their officers. 911 operators are most likely trained to handle this situation. (No, I have not had time to call and verify). The 911 operator will be able to tell you if a person is a police officer or even dispatch a police office in a clearly marked vehicle and uniform.
• Always keep your doors locked when you are driving. It is much harder to car jack somebody when the doors will not open.
• Remain calm and think. Panic breeds rash decisions like speeding off and possibly crashing during a high speed pursuit.
• Do not speed off unless you believe it is absolutely necessary to save your life. It is very hard for a person to chase down even a slow moving car. If you drive off do so slowly and remain at or below the speed limit until you come to a safe place that you can stop. If you are obeying traffic laws most police officers are not going to forcibly stop you until they have backup, which is what you want.
• If you do drive off start thinking about a safe place to stop. Think of a place with lots of people or where multiple people will notice your arrival. Open gas stations are good because they are surrounded by open glass and the attendants will usually notice a vehicle approaching. Drug stores, although usually open, are not so good because the attendants don’t know anybody is around until the front door opens.
• Police do not need to touch you do give you a ticket. Do not roll your window all the way down. You can give them all of the information they want through a small crack in the window. If they ask you to roll down your window, politely refuse. If they keep insisting explain that you would like to wait until another police officer, in a separate vehicle is present. This way you cannot be grabbed or assaulted with most weapons.

If you have more recommendations, please leave a comment, especially if you are a police officer. People need to know the best way to handle this situation while protecting themselves from the Taser of a frustrated police officer.

Go forth and do good things,

Don C. Weber

taser, police, imposter, security, Security Ripcord

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