Fake Cop Kidnaps, Sexually Assaults Woman In Pleasanton After Traffic Stop
PLEASANTON (CBS SF) - Police in Pleasanton were seeking help in finding a man who impersonated a police officer, pulled over a driver then kidnapped and sexually assaulted her last month.
The incident on August 5 was reported several weeks after it happened, according to the Pleasanton Police Department.
The woman was driving on Valley Ave at Bernal at about 3:00 a.m. when she heard a siren-like chirp and a flash of light coming from the vehicle behind her, police said.
She pulled over and the man showed her a star-shaped badge, ordered her out of the car and handcuffed her, police said.
The woman was placed in the back seat of the man's car and driven a short distance away to a secluded dirt or gravel road and sexually assaulted inside the vehicle, police said. The man then drove away and left the woman at the scene. She walked back to her car and drove home.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
The woman described the suspect vehicle as a dark, four-door sedan of unknown make.
The Pleasanton Police Department offered the following safety tips for drivers who are being pulled over:
1) Law enforcement officers are required to have a solid, steady, front-facing, red light when conducting a traffic stop. You are not required by law to stop if you do not see a solid red light.
2) Slow down, put on your blinker and drive to a well lit and populated area before you stop.
3) Call 911 if you are concerned about the legitimacy of the traffic stop. The 911 dispatcher can confirm whether the traffic stop is legitimate or will send officers to investigate.
Anyone with information about this incident or the identity of the suspect was urged to contact the Pleasanton Police Department at (925) 931-5100.
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