Fake cop in drag stops Baltimore drivers

• Tweet

BALTIMORE, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Baltimore police say a man wearing a woman's wig and an overly large officer's hat has been pulling drivers over and inspecting their licenses.

In at least one case, he kept a woman's license, The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday. So far, he appears to have done little harm and in most cases has not even broken the law.

Erin Hartz, a 23-year-old who moved to Baltimore from West Virginia, said she encountered the fake officer Dec. 17. She said he was wearing Harry Potter-style glasses, a ginger wig and pleated slacks that poofed at the hips.

The man told her she had been speeding, gave her license a quick once over and then sent her on her way, telling her to drive safely. At first, she assumed he was a real officer, possibly a transsexual.

Hartz called police and a detective took a report but said the fake officer apparently did nothing illegal.

Police in the city's Northern District are warning residents about the fake, who has switched to a black shoulder-length wig and knee-high boots for his most recent traffic stops.

Hartz says she was lucky to get off with a warning about safe driving, given that she was stopped in a dark area with no one else around.

"It was a good learning experience," she said.