Cleveland Police have arrested a 41-year-old man who allegedly has been impersonating police officers.
Seth Adams will be charged with Impersonating Peace Officer, Failure to Comply, Possessing Criminal Tools, Obstructing Official Business and Inducing Panic, police say.
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, around 11 p.m., Cleveland Police were called to West 3rd Street and Huron Road near Tower City for a report of a person impersonating a police officer.
Similar incident
Over a month ago, Adams was arrested in North Olmsted after being accused of chasing down a BMW at speeds of more than 80 mph on busy Brookpark Road.
According to police reports, he was using orange lights self-installed in his car with police stickers on top. The Bay Village Police "badge" he was carrying was a department challenge coin taped into his wallet.
He was reportedly wearing a sweater vest that resembled a police uniform with an American flag on the breast and a leather bullet belt that displayed multiple .22 caliber bullets.
When Adams was asked to get out of his car, police found he used a playing card and a Cleveland Police business card to cover the VIN number of his vehicle.
What to do
Cleveland Police want to remind you if you believe someone might be trying to impersonate an officer while interacting with you, call 911.
"If you're really not sure and there's just something that doesn't seem right, you have the ability if you have a phone call 911 or call our dispatchers 621-1234 here in Cleveland and say 'Hey, I'm at this location, there's what we believe to be an officer.' And the dispatcher should be able to confirm with the officers, if they're Cleveland Police officers, if they're in that location," said Sgt. Freddy Diaz, Cleveland Police Public Information Officer.
Ohio Revised Code requires officers to have both blue and red lights on their vehicles. And you should always check for a prominently displayed badge.
"It can be a serious crime. Obviously, this is something that could put people in danger, so we discourage it. We obviously don't want that, especially if they're out there putting law enforcement in a bad light because it doesn't represent what we believe," said Diaz.
