Fake Cop Busted By Real Cops 2 Days In A Row

LARGO, FL — A 35-year-old Largo man with a reported penchant for impersonating police officers was arrested not once, but twice over the weekend by the real cops.

According to the Largo Police Department, its officers first brought Todd Blumencranz into custody on Saturday. The agency says Blumencranz walked around the Madison Apartment complex where he lives telling residents he worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office as an undercover narcotics deputy.

“Blumencranz introduced himself to one resident as ‘Todd Miller’ and pointed to his 2007 silver in color Nissan
Altima bearing Florida tag BMNI13 saying it was his undercover vehicle,” the department wrote in an email to media.“Blumencranz also questioned the resident about alleged auto burglaries in the area.”

When Largo Police caught wind of the incident, Blumencranz was brought into custody Saturday on a charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail Saturday afternoon and later released in lieu of $5,000 bond.

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On Sunday, Largo Police say Blumencranz was at it again. The second time, however, Blumencranz is accused of attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a yellow Ford Mustang heading north on U.S. 19.

“The driver of the Mustang initially slowed down to stop, but upon seeing the vehicle was not a marked police cruiser and instead a silver colored Nissan with a small red flashing light, she proceeded to travel to a local gas station,” the agency wrote in its email.

Blumencranz was again tracked down by Largo police and booked into the Pinellas County Jail on impersonation charges around 9:11 a.m. Sunday. He was later released in lieu of $5,000 bond, jail records indicate.

While Blumencranz is out on bond, police say he doesn’t have access to his 2007 silver Nissan any longer. The vehicle used in the traffic stop attempt was impounded, the agency reported.

Saturday and Sunday’s arrests follow similar incidents in the Clearwater Police Department's and Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office jurisdictions, Largo police said.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Jail