By Nancy Arsenault
Stow and Maynard police are issuing a warning to local motorists to be on the lookout for a “police impersonator”. A young woman from Stow reported to police on August 22 that a car was following closely behind her as she traveled through the eastern towns on Rt. 117, heading to Stow after work, around 12:45am. Near Erikson’s Ice Cream, the car activated a blue flashing light, and thinking it was the police, the woman pulled over.
A man left the vehicle and approached her car. The woman noticed he was not in uniform, nor did he display any kind of badge. “She was immediately suspicious,” said Stow Police Detective Mike Sallese. The man ordered the woman out of the car, and when she asked his reason for the request, he again ordered her out of the car. She did not comply, rolled up her window and quickly drove away. “She did do the right thing,” added Sallese, who said most law enforcement vehicles in Stow and nearby towns are easily identifiable as a police vehicle. The officer would be in uniform and should also display identifying information, visible to the driver. Sallese said it is protocol that any officer identify themselves and their affiliation to someone they pull over in a motor vehicle stop.
In this case, the woman called police as soon as she arrived home and though several police cars from both Maynard and Stow searched the area, the vehicle and its driver, were not located. The vehicle was described as a dark colored sedan, similar to a police cruiser, with a single blue strobe light on the dash board. The suspect is described as a white male in his 40s, with short brown hair, facial acne scaring, a feminine voice, standing over 6ft tall and weighing about 225 lbs.
If anyone has any information about this or similar incidents in this area, please contact Detective Seeley at the Maynard Police Department at (978) 897-1011.