WOOSTER, Ohio — The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is warning residents after a law enforcement imposter has been reportedly trying to "lure women."
According to officials, there have been at least three incidents over the past three days where individuals have reported being pulled over by someone acting as a law enforcement official.
"The person is pulling people over, asking them some questions and so forth, and essentially trying to lure women. Two of these vehicles have contained women, asking them to step out of the car," said Captain Douglas Hunter with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office in a Facebook video.
In one instance, the acting officer "terminated" the traffic stop after realizing the driver was a man.
“It appears that this person’s targeting women, and asking them to get out of their cars," Hunter told 3News on Monday. "We can only speculate that that might lead to some type of an abduction or a sexual assault or something of that nature. So it’s very concerning and we’re going to be following up on all the leads that come in to try to bring this person to justice.”
The person posing as a law enforcement officer has been reportedly driving a dark-colored sedan, possibly a Ford Taurus. The vehicle also has a spotlight with some red and blue lights in the visor area of the car as well as a possible marking on the side of the vehicle.
The Wayne County Sheriff's office says that almost always marked cars are used for traffic enforcement.
"If there’s something that is troubling, it seems like it’s not right, an unmarked police car - generally law enforcement officers are not going to be performing general traffic duties with an unmarked car," Capt. Hunter told 3News. "My advice would be to not stop, but to drive slowly, perhaps turn your four way flashers on, and call 911 immediately and ask if there’s a legitimate traffic stop taking place."
The law enforcement imposter is described as wearing a uniform that says sheriff on the chest and has a body camera.
Anyone pulled over is asked to contact the Wayne County Sheriff's Office at (330) 287-5750 immediately.
The full video from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office can be watched below:
3News has obtained reports from two of the incidents, both of which were taken on Saturday, April 22.
In one of the reports, a woman told police that she had been pulled over by a man driving a black SUV with a single flashing red light earlier in the week. The man was wearing a uniform with a gun belt and a shirt that read "sheriff" but without any badges or patches. The man asked the woman questions such as where she lives and if she has any weapons. The woman was advised by police that it wasn't a real officer and she should call 911 immediately if she was unsure.
In the other report, a man informed officers that he had been pulled over by a black Ford Taurus with dark-tinted windows and flashing red and blue lights on Back Orrville Road in Wooster.
The man was wearing a black hoodie and what appeared to be a body camera with a red flashing light. He was also wearing a duty belt, but the victim was unsure whether or not he was carrying a weapon.
The man advised that his girlfriend had been driving his car while hers was in the shop and they had noticed zip ties that had been tied around the door handles and X markings on the widows. Officers advised that these were typically made by traffickers to track potential victims.
The victim said that the black Ford Taurus had been following him for a period of time before pulling him over. He ran away and drove off at a high rate of speed, however, after the victim rolled down his window, revealing that he was driving the car and not his girlfriend. The victim proceeded to call 911.
The man also told police that he had been followed multiple times by what appeared to be a young female driving a white CRV. Officers advised the man that it is possible this was a vehicle being used by traffickers to track his car and to immediately call 911 if any incidents similar to the one being reported occurred again.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on 3News on April 23, 2023.