The Paulding County Sheriff's Office is warning the public to beware of a pair of police impersonators.
Around 7 p.m. Friday, a woman driving west on Mulberry Rock Road was pulled over by what she described as a black Ford Crown Victoria with tinted windows after the car flashed a blue light from the dash, authorities said.
"When the driver of the vehicle saw the blue light, she pulled over in the area of Scoggins Middle School," Sheriff's Office spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said.
Two men exited the Crown Victoria and approached the woman's car on both sides.
"The impersonator requested her driver's license," Henson said. "While she was looking for her driver's license, she saw the male on the passenger side of the vehicle brandish a pistol and point it in her direction."
The man on the driver's side took the woman's wallet and the two men fled.
Although the woman couldn't see the license plate on the car, she described the impersonators as clean-shaven white men in their mid-20s, both wearing black t-shirts and black baseball caps.
I want the citizens of Paulding County to know that we take these types of crimes very serious," Paulding Sheriff Gary Gulledge said. "We are working diligently to locate these police impersonators."
Sheriff's officials encourage motorists who believe they are being pulled over to always be aware of their surroundings and to follow a few steps to ensure they are being stopped by genuine law enforcement officials:
- Slow down below the posted speed limit and use your hand to signal to the officer that you are aware they are behind you.
- Turn on your hazard lights and proceed to a well-lit, populated area.
- Call 9-1-1 to confirm that the person initiating the stop is a Paulding County Sheriff's deputy.
Anyone with information about the impersonators is asked to call the Sheriff's Office criminal investigations division at 770-443-3015.
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