BATON ROUGE, La. — A criminal behind the wheel, pretending to serve and protect. East Baton Rouge Police say 53-year-old Jason Miller of Covington was impersonating an officer this past weekend when he approached a 17-year-old girl walking down the street in Baton Rouge.
The report of the horrific crime says he flashed something that looked like a badge, asked the girl to put her hands on the car, asked if she dealt drugs, and then cuffed, kidnapped, and raped her.
Security expert and former officer Reginald Rowe, of Security Experts and Leaders, says these crimes happen too often.
“You don’t know who is who,” said Rowe.
In fact, just last year, two men with police-style lights conducted traffic stops and robbed people in New Orleans.
Rowe says if there’s no uniform, or something seems suspicious, ask questions.
“I can politely say, what’s your badge number? What department do you work for? I can also say, why are you not in a marked unit? And what’s your probable cause for stopping me?” Rowe said.
“And when you ask those questions to an impersonator, of course they don’t know how to respond to that and most of them will probably drive away.”
If you’re pulled over at night, or by an unmarked vehicle, get to a police station or a well-lit area with witnesses.
“Immediately get on the phone with the police department when those lights are activated. Don’t stop your vehicle,” Rowe said.
Real officers caught up with Miller Tuesday. They say he was caught on surveillance video and on video from the victim’s cell phone, and his confession of the horrible crimes will keep him off the street for quite a while.