PolicePosers.com

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Investigators–Police-Posers-behind-high-profile-crimes–71834742.html

A small excerpt from the article itself:

by CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 Investigators

Posted on November 24, 2009 at 10:51 PM

SEATTLE – A series of recent high-profile crimes all have a common thread. They involve people posing as police officers.

The KING 5 Investigators have learned it may be more than coincidence that there are so many “police posers” on the streets these days and that it is often hard to tell them apart from the good guys.

To passers-by at a Federal Way truck stop earlier this year, it looked like law enforcement was taking down one of its own. A marked K-9 vehicle was pulled over, the man driving it placed in cuffs, and the sidearm from his holster seized. He was stopped by an off-duty King County detective who saw the car driving down I-5 and played a hunch it wasn’t an actual cop.

The rest of the article and video shed a lot of light on the impostor problems the Seattle area is facing which spurred the article. Thank you Chris for the work done on the article and the video.

This is another one of those subjects popping up more and more on message boards: volunteers who quit or resign from their departments, but refuse to give up their lighting on their POV. While this is a small topic, it is an interesting one that has our interest.

The story starts with someone who has invested a lot of time and money into their lighting setup, the lights more than likely conform to their state laws for volunteer POV lights and their permits, although for one reason or another they have to move on from their volunteering hobby. Then the dreaded fact of life comes up, that the lights must go. The former volunteer fights this choice for awhile, and ends up deciding for some reason or another, they are just going to keep them.

What is their motivation? Mainly it is whackeristic intentions; excuses we heard so far stretch from “I am a trained fire fighter/EMT/whatever and might need them” to “you know, because I can.” As we say, we aren’t against people using lights when it is needed and lawful; however people who think they are entitled or it is their right to do so due to their past we are against. Either these types are cast out of their department due to their behavior or they are moving, and don’t want to move on from their flashy light show to live the life of a “normal” civilian. They evolve from a legitimate lighting user, to a whacker, the moment they leave their respective department. Just like a former police officer doesn’t wear his populated duty belt or a former member of the military wearing their class A uniform everywhere they go.

So to wrap up this week’s update, know when to call it quits and to leave behind the dream. Lights are tools that should only be used by those trained, certified, and who use them lawfully and ethically.

You have seen them at one time or another, escort whackers. We aren’t talking about just the wide or hazardous load escort vehicles (it is a legitimate job) but the whackers among them. With the lighting market more affordable and easier to obtain, some escort whackers have been brazen enough to cross the line from legitimate use to too much. We here at PolicePosers.com keep tabs on several venues that are either friendly to whackers/wannabes/impostors or embrace them with open arms. The escort whackers have been stepping into the spot light in recent times with their prolific abuse and overuse of lighting and even illegally or illegitimate lighting.

While the line of illegal and illegitimate lighting is different among different groups, we will highlight what we see here. A few escort whackers forget their presence is a passive one, mainly there for warning other roadway motorists of the potential hazard they are escorting. While this is what a lot of escort employees expect, others think they own the road they drive on and make attempts at confusing or intimidating motorists to pull over or otherwise yield to the escort service and/or the load they are escorting. Some examples are illegally colored lighting, flashing OEM lights on the escort vehicle itself (Tail light Flashers, Head Light Flashers), or even aggressive tactics such as using the shoulder of the road to pass and so forth. More than once our members have witnessed escort vehicles set up to look like in service police cruisers with lighting, graphics, and even uniforms.

So where is this all going? As time passes, REAL emergency lighting users will need to increase their vehicle lighting more and more to get the public’s attention and keep their response times low. One of the reasons that can be attributed to that is those who don’t need what they have (too much/non-needed lighting) and abuse what they have (treat their amber-only lighting as emergency response lighting). We are talking about overzealous whackers just like what we described above who stretch the limit of what they need in terms of lighting and how many laws they break to get their desired target affect. While most hazardous/wide load escorts are great people with proper lighting setups, some aren’t and makes the rest look bad.

Whackers and Wannabes are nothing new on internet message forums. We see new ones pop up from time to time with various ways of coming out of the closet to other forum members on their whackerness or unhealthy obsession of lightings, sirens, and the power they think it brings them. While these whackers and wannabes start their journey of exploitation differently, they all have one common goal. That goal is to be accepted by fellow light users as one of their own although the major different between them is the legitimate use of lighting and mental state the lights bring both parties. So we here at PolicePosers.com have came up with a simple check list to see if someone who is post might be a whacker or wannabe:

1. They start the post off saying they aren’t a whacker or wannabe. They do this due to the guilt they already feel deep inside but say this disclaimer in the hopes people won’t judge them as such.

2. Their first post is about their obsession in some way. This could be a retired police package vehicle with lighting, a large collection of lighting in their bedroom. They could even be bragging up their accomplishments such as being a happy helper, self appointed citizen patrol or even a scanner call chaser.

3. They talk whole heartedly about something that only officials use. This could be a vehicle, lighting, or even duty gear including firearms. Maybe they work it in as a comparison to their own equipment or what they have on their wish list.

4. If you are lucky, they might slip up and mention using their lighting in a borderline illegal way. Events like this usually include “lighting someone up” or tooting their public safety grade electronic air horn at them. Mostly likely the thread will center around their lighting use and how it made them feel. Die hard whackers and wannabes will usually slip up thinking their new found lighting brethren will rejoice in the illegitimate use of emergency lighting.

These threads, depending where they are posted, will have various outcomes. Some message boards live behind the blind mentality of “pat their back because people do it for me” and will prop up the coming out of the closet whacker on their shoulders and defend him. Other forums will ignore the whacker and let him whittle away once their arousal of showing off dies down. Then some forums will call it like it is, they are a whacker/wannabe thus equivalent to a mentally challenged window licker and emergency lights and sirens are tools, not toys.

If you spot a whacker or wannabe thread, we would like to hear about it. Before you compare yourself with one of the above and get offended, not everyone who matches some of the above is a whacker or wannabe. We only try to provide tools to assist in detecting them, the rest is up to the viewer to decide.

Funeral escorts, some of us see them daily, some of us never heard of them. For those who haven’t heard of them, we’ll explain it for you. These are private companies who sole purpose is to escort the funeral home and the grieving on public roads to insure their safe passage to the final resting place of the deceased.

While it is arguable this service is needed, it does exist in many states and cities. These services can range from one vehicle with no lighting to several vehicles that resemble local law enforcement officials. The latter is what we are going to discuss with this update.

We have been noticing the funeral escort business is becoming another outlet for whackers, wannabes, and when things go too far, impostors. Some of these companies use law enforcement style vehicles, uniforms, and equipment in their duties. In our observations, the only equipment that should be used by both ends of the spectrum is legal lighting.

Funeral Escorts do not need public safety grade vehicles, duty gear, and some cases uniforms. For what little effort a funeral escort is putting out, a duty belt and weapons aren’t needed along with vehicles imitating law enforcement vehicles. Uniforms should show consistency and professionalism however a lot of times they include everything from typical law enforcement design to badges and “awards.”

A lot of the companies we are discussing here have gone the route of tricking the public rather than trying to get their attention. By tricking we are meaning that some companies openly try to look like law enforcement rather than trying different graphics are smartly placed lights to gain the motorist’s attention.

To wrap things up, we mainly want to profile this sub-culture of whackers and wannabes to bring to light their existence. Like security and other fringe private safety fields, they have a purpose. But for some, if not a lot use their existence as a vehicle for their own ulterior motives.

Over our time here on PolicePosers.com, we have noticed yet another trend that needs mentioned. We are finding when whackers are questioned on their lighting abuse, most times they will quote their law enforcement “friend” who says the abuse is just fine. While it doesn’t happen every time, it is funny that whackers would have to quote someone else to justify or defend their lighting abuse. Kind of makes us wonder if they also doubt their own reasoning for the lighting abuse and have to use a third party to justify their beliefs. Just a thought to ponder.

This week we wrap up our summer coverage of the whacker subculture. See whackers have to get their tools of confusion from somewhere. Unlike firearms, sales of lights are unregulated and pretty much open to anyone with cash. Now a lot of companies have taken steps to prevent improper use of their products such as requiring proper ID or proof of intended use with emergency colors. On the other hand, there are businesses that are greedy and will sell to anyone with the money. Sometimes this is done with the full knowledge of the intent of the purchaser.

There have been numerous stories published about impostors who have obtained their law enforcement equipment from a deal who didn’t check. Usually these companies tighten up their control of sales until the bad cloud has moved on and will resume selling to anyone with the cash.

Some companies have taken the partial control approach by restricting certain colors on preconfigured lighting units. However these self imposed rules can be circumvented, even with their help. When I was still a fire fighter, I ordered a blue mini halogen light bar from such a dealer. I was told I couldn’t order a blue light bar due to “restrictions.” However, I was told by the sales associate that I could order the light bar without any colored filters (clear) and order the blue filters separately. I went ahead and did so knowing what just happened.

As you can see from my example, self imposed restrictions are only good if there is no way around them, especially with employee help. Some might think this is too intrusive and more might complain about having to prove they are a fire fighter or police officer. This is a null argument as most of the same people would happily pull their ID/badge out to get something for free or at a reduced price from a local vendor/business.

In closing, we are not asking for government imposed restrictions. However, with the increase of impostor crimes and the deterioration of society, it might be right around the corner. The primary source of this equipment is the dealer or person selling them to anyone. Asking a simple question or asking for ID or other proof takes less than 5 minutes and might keep around impostor from hurting someone.

On part two of our whacker subculture summer updates, we bring you the SAR whacker type. Now we know there are legitimate groups out there who use lighting. We understand in some area SAR groups are needed. Most times these groups are endorsed by companies, public safety agencies, or even on their own. Also to add to that most of them are certified to do the services they do and are part of the overall emergency response doctrine.

With that being said, there is also a subculture of SAR whackers out there and we will discuss that here. In some areas where SAR services are needed but there is a vacuum, whackers might create an SAR group. With little training for motivation for public safety, these whackers outfit their car with borderline legal lighting setups and use them when they can. Most of these whackers will have little if any SAR personal gear but will be the first to show up to a lost child call in their POV’s with lights shining brightly.

These types of groups usually start up with a core of true wannabes trying to be official and thus evolve into full fledged whacker groups. At times, they might even use catchy names such as “XXXXX County SAR” or “XXXXX City SAR” to sound more official than other names without official endorsement from the respective cities or counties.

In the past there have been SAR groups that were started for the sole fact to imitate professionals. These groups will use their SAR status to springboard themselves into other avenues of the public safety field. A good example is the TAMSAR group (Team Alpha Medical Search and Rescue). This group started out as a simple group of kids forming a SAR group to an accused full fledged impostor organization performing law enforcement type duties using the Bureau of Land Management as their authorization.

In closing, we want to express SAR is a legitimate field, but as with security, it is a target of abuse and impostors. This stems from the fact there is very little national and state level certifications or official recognition of stand alone SAR groups. Another issue stems from the fact SAR is a broad field that entails a lot of duties and tasks. This gives impostors and other abusers a wide range of ways to commit illegal and unethical acts while under the umbrella of the SAR title.

This week we will cover another aspect of the Whacker Defense Force (WDF). The defense of whackerism has many tentacles and each tentacle has it’s own line of attack as to why whackers and wannabes are not a bad thing for society.

This week we will examine the argument that if it’s not illegal it’s OK. This argument is often a rallying cry for those WDF members known as Sheeples. Sheeple are people who expect the law to be the sole judge of what is right or wrong. While we all do this to some extent, these individuals opt to let the law replace their own moral and ethical judgments. They take the simplistic view of “If it’s against the law, it’s bad, if it’s not against the law, it’s good”, thereby avoiding having to think for themselves.

Like the proverbial ostrich sticking it’s head in the sand, these members of the WDF simply ignore the problem by refusing to believe that unless a specific law is being broken, that Whackers even exist. This has the unfortunate result where even if something is unethical or dangerous, but legal, that they will defend it regardless of the consequences. They fail to understand that the more whackers are given what amounts to tacit approval of their actions, either by downplaying the issue, turning a blind eye, defending their actions as “harmless”, etc the more it encourages their behavior. This perception is further bolstered when those who try to raise the red flags are attacked. Many times such behaviors are motivated by friendship, the individual’s age, affiliations, etc rather than logical factors.

Now some will ask “If it’s legal, how can it be bad?” People who ask this question are often surprised to learn that Drunk Driving was once legal until New York passed the first law in 1910, but even then many people, police included, dismissed drunk driving as unimportant and harmless. As a result enforcement was poor & consequences rarely enforced. Likewise as recently as the late 1800s it was considered both social & legally acceptable, and proper, for a man to “beat his woman” to keep her inline. In fact British common law once allowed a man to “chastise” his wife with “any reasonable instrument.” Additionally it wasn’t until 1895 that a woman in the U.S. could divorce her husband on the grounds of abuse. Fortunately for us in the present, there were people who refused to blindly believe that legal= good & illegal= bad.

Now lighting abuse is a unique issue as it has its roots in power by deception. For example- An individual can mount perfectly legal amber lights on a vehicle, but by using clear lenses and carefully selected placement, they can make the vehicle appear to be a vehicle equipped with real emergency lighting, thereby fooling the general public into thinking that the driver is a law enforcement officer. Now you may be asking “If they’re not hurting anyone then what’s the harm?”. The harm comes in several forms. One form is the erosion of trust in legitimate emergency responders when the actions of whackers are attributed to them by mistake, since it is often difficult for ordinary citizens to differentiate between the two. Another risk is that of mistaken identity by hostile parties who are either seeking revenge against law enforcement or by interrupting a crime in progress. This second scenario can result in anything from simple vandalism to the parked vehicle to potentially lethal force against the vehicle’s occupants. To understand how this could occur imagine the following scenario:

A college student buys a retired police car, does not repaint it from it’s original police colors, and subsequently installs a push bumper, spotlights, and “emergency” lights in an effort to be more “intimidating” to other drivers. One night this individual and a friend drive to a local convenience store to buy some beer. Unfortunately for them at the same time they’re parking in front of the store an armed robber is exiting. Now this robber is confronted with what appears to be an in-service police unit and following that line of thinking opens fire killing the passenger.

For those of you who think that a scenario like this will never happen, it can and does, and even armed & trained law enforcement officers have been killed or wounded in this exact scenario (minus the beer run). Another common scenario- stopping for a disabled vehicle, has also resulted in the deaths of law enforcement officers. Another harm comes from the dilution of the message conveyed by emergency lighting either by over or unnecessary use. The final of the more common harms is that of the magical shield fallacy. In this scenario the user fails to recognize that emergency warning lights are not a physical barrier that will protect them from harm, so consequently they may park in inappropriate locations, make sudden unexpected stops (such as on an expressway), or disregard traffic control equipment any one of which can result in a collision and injuries or death.

In closing we’d ask that you step back from the herd and take an objective look at the issues surrounding whackers, wannabes, & impersonators. Do not be an ostrich with your head in the sand hoping that the problem will go away on it’s own.

This week we will cover a very controversial, yet growing problem in the volunteer emergency services sector. There appears to be a growing number of whackers, wannabes, & impersonators joining legitimate fire & EMS departments to justify their POV Emergency lighting. Most worrisome are those members who both drive police style vehicles and add police equipment in an attempt to make them appear to be in-service law enforcement vehicles. Some examples of the equipment added to these vehicles are:

• Push bumpers
• Spot lights
• Multiple antennas
• Black-out tint
• Thin Blue Line stickers or plates
• Police Interceptor badges
• Emergency lights with clear lenses
• Laptops

Unless the member is also a law enforcement officer, why do they need such equipment? We have been watching and have noticed this is a growing trend for those who own police style vehicles and have run out of options for impersonation. They will join a volunteer fire or EMS department for the sole purpose of gaining a light permit to legally allow them to possess emergency lights. These members then either contribute nothing to the department or do only the bare minimum required. The actions of these members taints the public image of volunteer agencies as a whole. When the public sees these vehicles driving around they either believe they are police vehicles, and so attribute any bad acts to police officers in general, or realize that they are POVs and lose respect for the professionalism of volunteer services. In many areas the use of emergency lighting by legitimate responders is already viewed negatively, and so having whackers, wannabes, & impersonators riding the coat tails of the volunteer community does nothing to help this image.

Now some people will jump to the conclusion that because we are commenting on the abuse of emergency lights by members of volunteer fire & EMS departments that joined those agencies with ulterior motives, that we are bashing all volunteer responders who use emergency lights. This is not true. We here at Policeposers.com have no problem with the responsible use of emergency lighting by legitimate volunteer responders. In fact many of the members of this site are active emergency personnel who use emergency lights, either on department vehicles or POVs, on a daily basis. As such we have come to rely on those lights to help keep us safe while performing our duties and do not wish to see their message diluted by inappropriate use.