Pretend Police: Are Impersonators Stopping You?

Pretend police in your mirror lights flashing and siren blaring is a scary prospect for all drivers on the road. Factor in being a woman alone or driving late at night and the prospect can be even more terrifying.

As a police expert, speaker, author, and media commentator, I hear what folks' police, crime, and safety related concerns are. And so, it was little surprise that quite a few people have been reading my latest police article for Examiner.com, "Pretend Police: Safety Tips for Drivers Being Stopped." As Examiner.com's designated "police examiner" for their national edition, I had a feeling that the article would strike a nerve for all concerned about police, crime and safety issues on an issue that really happens. I was right on target as the article opened with real life cases of police impersonators arrested in Florida, Massachusetts, California, and Pennsylvania.

Fake fuzz are out there and they are stopping drivers on the highways with pseudo cop accoutrements. The illicit equipment on the nabbed impersonator law enforcement officers have included badges, uniforms, radios, flashing lights, sirens, guns, and of course, a police style vehicle such as the ubiquitous Ford Crown Victoria.

The article gave safety tips, as I also do via my TheCopDoc.com website, on what to do if you think that a pretend police officer, deputy sheriff, or state trooper is trying to stop you.

The real police certainly want to stop police impersonators from engaging in their illegal conduct, arrest them, and bring them to justice. Fake fuzz endanger the public and law enforcers alike.

Check it out and comment below on The Cop Doc blog, on my Facebook page, or on the Examiner.com article. Have you been stopped by the Pretend Police?

Here is the link to the PoliceImpersonator article I wrote: http://www.examiner.com/police-in-national/pretend-police-safety-tips-for-drivers-being-stopped

Orlando Office Building & Ft. Hood Shooter Situation: Excellent Police Response

The recent tragic office building shooting in Orlando, Florida, underscores my quick move to offer kudos to the Orlando Police Department in their quick response. Patrol officers were on scene in approximately one minute. As I explained in three live breaking news MSNBC TV interviews and the MSNBC.com website, as well as for local stations in Orlando, FL, (WESH 2 - NBC - News and Central Florida News 13) and Columbus, OH, (WCMH NBC 4 News), first responding patrol officers moved quickly and may have moved the shooter to leave sooner than he originally intended. They exemplified what we want to see in our law enforcers in times of crisis: brave decisive action backed by training and experience. When others run away, these men and women lived up to their oaths and ran towards the danger zone.


I detailed too quite a few show bookers, producers, news anchors and reporters, law enforcement response to active shooter situations changed historically at the Columbine High School incident in Colorado. As many will recall, that situation saw first responding patrol officers standing by waiting for SWAT team officers. Meanwhile, students were being shot and the gunmen moved through the structure unfettered.

Law enforcement trainers took a hard look at response tactics in those situations and a new approach was born that was used in Orlando, as as well in the Ft. Hood shooting in Texas. The idea is to have first responding patrol officers form small, mobile teams to dynamically and aggressively move towards the sound of gunfire or where the perceived threat may be. Along the way, they encounter people who they shoo behind them towards hopefully other arriving teams of officers. I'm not detailing the formations of these teams or other tactical details that could compromise the officers and the public.



I was involved in this training when it started and evolved. I found it to be an effective means to, in our parlance, neutralize the threat. It is training that is grounded in much thought and research. I know this training and I know the law enforcement agencies involved in the Florida response. Since I ran an Orlando-area Police Academy at Seminole Community College, I trained many of the men and women that responded on November 6, 2009.

The Orlando Police Department, as well as the Orange County Sheriff's Office, are known for their unusual proficiency via a bunch of training hours and resources devoted to this method. Jason Rodriguez, the Orlando shooter, picked the right part of the country (from my perspective) as the officers in Central Florida are among the best in the nation at this type of call for police service.




On a related note, for those who think that I am anti-law enforcement in my news interviews, you haven't watched more than a few of my interviews or visited my website (such as www.TheCopDoc.com). My recent stance on the excellent work of the Orlando Police Department certainly underscores that. Many of them are available for viewing on my youtube.com channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/richardweinblatt).

What is interesting is that I have a chorus of folks who feel that I only take the side of the po-po given my background in law enforcement. Both are far from the truth. Sometimes I side against law enforcement's actions in a particular matter. Other times, I defend their actions. And still other incidents I have taken a middle of the road neutral stance given that not enough facts were presented yet.

I let the facts speak for themselves and, coupled with my training, education, and experience, assess and communicate a professional opinion of complex justice issues in terms that are understandable. That has been a central part of my life's mission.

That my mission can help to highlight and explain the laudatory action of law enforcement officers in Orlando and Ft. Hood is particularly satisfying. Some of the TV news interviews are featured below.

Kid Nation, filmed near Santa Fe, NM, at Bonanza Creek Ranch, Debuts

Kid Nation, the much beleaguered series on CBS, has debuted (Wednesday, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm) with a scant four minutes of commercial ad time sold. While the controversy has captivated many all summer with its cries of child exploitation, I know its filmed location as a place of other Hollywood-type interest.



Even Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, a fellow blogger, has been quoted extensively on the exploitation controversy in local and national press. His thoughts on the issue have been everywhere from the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times newspapers. His deputy sheriffs investigated the claims and found no criminal wrong doing, although some concerns were expressed.

As a deputy sheriff in the Patrol Division of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, I visited the closed set of the old TNT western The Lazarus Man starring the late Robert Urich. The series (1995-1996) aired on Saturday nights at 9:00 pm on the TNT cable TV network and it was filmed at the Bonanza Creek Ranch located some eight miles south of the City of Santa Fe, NM.



I had no problem being let in by security at the front wooden gate. I pulled my marked Chevrolet Caprice patrol car up to the set and encountered a min-city in the form of a Hollywood set of an old western main street. All of this was outside with canopies to shield the caterers and other support folks from the sun. Many actors were scurrying about in their western garb.

It looked much like a scene from a Hollywood set- only this was in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Kid Nation claims to be filmed in Bonanza City, NM. Actually, the real location is the place that Robert Urich plied his trade on the two season TNT western series before his cancer stopped the Sam Productions series.



Bonanza Creek Ranch was the name it went by during my visit and it certainly is not a stand alone city or community. The opening of the old NBC show Bonanza was filmed there. Remember, that was when Ben Cartwright and the rest of his brood rode up on horses during the opening music and the series' credits.

Other westerns have been filmed there including the Legend of the Lone Ranger (1980), Silverado (1989), and the Lucky Luke series (1989). The "city" that is there now is the result of the Hollywood magic worked by Lucky Luke's Paloma Films honchos.

It'll be interesting to see how this show does in the shadow of the controversy and minimal sponsor support. The location of the Ranch is great being just a stone throw from the amenities of the City of Santa Fe. And the views...well they are to say the least spectacular. Bonanza Creek Ranch is a very stunning and beautiful part of our nation (not just the kid nation).

Deputies Shot and Bulletproof Vest Saves the Day!

This afternoon I was at work in my Seminole Community College office working on Police Academy Instructor evaluations when I got a call from Central Florida News 13 Assistant News Director Rudy Murietta that made my heart stop. Not watching the news or checking online news site, I was unaware that two Orange County deputy sheriffs had been shot not far from Disneyworld. One was shot in the arm and the other was shot in chest.

According to footage shot of Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary at the scene, The deputy sheriff's vest appeared to have saved him. Yay! I was thrilled that the two law enforcers would be fine. And I was thrilled that the bulletproof vest got ample credit for the save and may thus encourage other officers to wear their vests everytime they are in uniform. By the way, the three bad guys were caught.

Central Florida News 13's Rudy Murietta and I discussed coming down to their downtown Orlando, FL, studios to share the miracle of the vests with the station's viewers.

Once down at the studios, I was hosted wonderfully by Rudy and his crew. I met the new news director and then we set about shooting the video package with Brad the camera dude.

Rudy wanted a standup piece on one of their studio sets and we did three takes perfecting a "show and tell" explaining the virtues of the vests to law enforcement officers (thus hopefully encouraging those officers watching to wear their vests).



I conceded that some officers eschew their vests due to them being hot and uncomfortable (especially in the Florida climate). I added though that officers do get used to the vests and they start to form fit after a while. I wore vests in New Mexico in 120 degree heat in the shade. I know first hand how hot they can get and I always wore one.

I explained how I always wore my vest in uniform even as a police chief (to me it was leadership by example). I even wore the same black shirt as the officers and my duty belt with all gear (Glock .45 duty firearm, expandable baton, radio, double magazine pouch for ammo, two handcuffs, and OC pepper spray).

In fact, I mentioned how I arranged a grant to get vests for every officer in my police department and then put into effect a policy that made it mandatory to wear the vest for all on-duty functions except as exempted by the chief of police (undercover narcotics type of work, etc.).

I was proud of that policy and feel that it is even more important in these violent times we live in that officers wear their vest. And I am proud of the deputies today in Central Florida who get to go home to their families because they were responsible enough to wear their vests.

You can view my Central Florida News 13 Bulletproof Vest show and tell below.