I saw a dirty white jeep pull over another car for speeding. Two men wearing black shirts with "Police" in white lettering across the front and back step out and walk over to the other car and get his license and registration. When I first saw the white jeep I was thinking to myself "This can't be an undercover cop." I was probably wrong but the risk is still there.
A man from NY got pulled over in Jersey City on Saturday by a man who was impersonating an undercover cop. He had is wallet stolen along with the titles to three trucks he'd recently purchased. The "undercover cop" was driving a silver-colored Ford sedan.
The police spokesman said that you should ask a plainclothed officer for their badge and ID and/or ask for a marked unit to respond. The problem is not everyone knows that they can do that, and the last think you want to do is piss off a police officer. My wife once asked a police officer for ID and he somehow was able to find a few more violations to give her tickets on.
The solution to this is that marked police cars should be the only ones pulling over people for traffic violations. Plainclothed officers should be working on assignments that are appropriate for not being identified.
Click here for the news piece.