Fake police set up roadblock, stop drivers during stay-at-home order
Charlotte NC March 31 2020
Police impersonators set up a roadblock on a Colorado highway and stopped drivers to ask why they were out during the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order.
The operation was reported to Greeley police by a woman who said she was stopped around 4:50 a.m. Friday on the Highway 34 business route, between Loveland and Greeley.
She said people wearing yellow vests directed cars into an area marked with traffic cones. Three or four silver cars were parked nearby, some with red and blue flashing lights on their dashboards, Greeley police Cmdr. Rafael Gutierrez said Sunday.
The woman was questioned by a man in a dark uniform who was wearing a gas mask and had a baton and pepper spray on his belt. The woman saw no badges or logos on the people or their cars.
“The individual asked to see her license, insurance and registration, and demanded explanation as to why she was violating COVID-19 law,” Gutierrez said. “He told the woman she could get charged with a violation for being out. And apparently he showed her something she thought looked like a ticket but it was never given to her.”
After about 10 minutes, the man let the woman leave, Gutierrez said. The woman told police she was the first of about half a dozen cars that she saw directed into the roadblock.
Greeley police did not conduct the roadblock, and they found no other agencies conducting such an operation at that time. Additionally, no law enforcement officer checked the woman’s name or license plate through official channels, Gutierrez said.
“We are actively pursuing an investigation on this and hopefully we can figure out who they are and get an explanation for their actions, and if they are doing it for criminal reasons then we can pursue the appropriate charges against them,” he said.
Gutierrez said he’d heard of one similar incident in the past week in the Fort Collins/Greeley area, and another was reported in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
In the Aurora incident, on Wednesday, a woman was pulled over late at night by a man in a dark Ford Crown Victoria with red and blue lights. The man, wearing a dark blue uniform without a badge, questioned her about why she was out during the stay-home order.
In another unsanctioned enforcement action, in Maine, neighbors reportedly felled a tree and used it to block the driveway of a home where they believed coronavirus patients were living.
Colorado’s stay-at-home order allows residents to make trips that are essential for daily life, like grocery shopping, caring for sick relatives or going to the pharmacy. Those who work at businesses deemed essential are also allowed to be out and about.
Law enforcement agencies across the state have said they will issue multiple warnings to residents who violate the order before issuing any citations, and some, like Denver police, have said they do not intend to stop vehicles to check for compliance.
