Crime & Safety
Woman's Police Impersonator Claim Turns Out To Be False: DA
A woman's claim that she was stopped by a police impersonator ended up being false, District Attorney George Brauchler said.
CENTENNIAL, CO — An Aurora police investigation revealed that a woman's claim about a police impersonator was false, 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler announced Wednesday. The woman told officers that the "impersonator" was enforcing the state's stay-at-home order, police said.
The woman said she was stopped on her way home from work March 25 near East Sixth Avenue and Havana Street, according to police.
When nearby surveillance camera videos did not corroborate her story, the woman "confessed to police she had made it up," Brauchler said. She was worried that her employer was not issuing “travel papers” and wanted to use her claim to pressure her employer, according to the district attorney.
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No public health or law enforcement agent will ask someone for any COVID-19 related paperwork, Brauchler said.
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On Monday, someone was charged with impersonation in Douglas County. The victim said he was pulled over by a self-described "bounty hunter" in a car with flashing lights, Brauchler said.
"This does not appear to be related to COVID-19 in any way, but that does not make it any less concerning,' a news release from the DA's office says.
“These are trying times on many levels for all of us. We need to work together to encourage everyone to follow the public health orders that are in effect,” Brauchler said in the release. “We need to — and we will — support our law enforcement officers in this time.
"Making false reports of crimes is lying, wastes resources and weakens our system. Pretending to be law enforcement and usurping their authority for any purpose is an attack on the legitimacy of our system. Neither will be tolerated in our community.”
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has charged six people with police impersonation over the past three years.
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