CLEVELAND — He had the means to protect himself but was outnumbered and outgunned; he came face-to-face with police impersonators last weekend. He spoke to News 5 and said what happened to him would be terrifying to anyone.
At least five times since March 7, people have been terrorized in Cleveland by masked men pretending to be cops.
Andrew Alexander says he’s okay after this terrifying experience overnight on Saturday. He stopped for who he thought was the police but quickly realized his life was in grave danger.
Alexander says he was heading home after getting food and gas when what happened next was a complete shock.
"Never in my life,” Alexander said.
Alexander told police he was driving on Clark from W. 25th in his Dodge Charger when a Kia SUV pulled up behind and followed him to West 48th Street. He then saw red and blue strobe lights.
"I wasn't expecting I was doing anything wrong, but police pull over people — you got to do what they say,” Alexander said.
A bright light blinded his view, but Andrew remembers at least four guys, as young as teens, wearing ski masks ordering him to put his hands up and out his window.
He did that, but there was a moment he thought about taking them on, he said.
"I'm not going to lie, in my reaction, you know, at the time, it was either me or them. I have weapons. I'm a concealed weapon holder and I could have drawn on them, but you know that's not my whole motto, you know, to kill,” Alexander said.
Andrew says he carries to protect himself, but he was one guy up against heavy firepower.
They put him on the ground with handguns and an AK-47-style gun.
“I chose my life. I gave them one of my guns and my cell phone, my car, all my belongings because it's just material things,” Alexander said.
Alexander lost his car and his phone, among other belongings.
His life didn’t seem to matter to them.
"I don't know who raised them but they need to get their act together cause somebody is going to catch them and it's not going to be pretty,” Alexander said.
Andrew says along with putting guns in his face, they almost ran him over while driving off with his car.
"I'm holding up pretty well, I mean I got my life, so as long as I can walk and breathe, the rest is easy,” Alexander said.
This is one of five robberies where gunmen are impersonating police officers in private cars with strobe lights.
- The first incident happened March 7 on Route 2 and the W. 45th Street exit.
- The second happened on March 28 at 152nd Street and Lakeshore Avenue.
- Then again on March 31 on W. 65th Street.
- Alexander was robbed in the fourth recorded incident, which happened on April 1 on W. 48th Street.
- Then this past Sunday, April 2, on Broadway and Blanche avenues.
In that most recent case Sunday night, police say the victim saw someone in a Dodge Durango following him with a gun and wearing a bullet-proof vest.
He stayed on the line with 911 and drove to the 3rd District police station. The Durango went in a different direction.
News 5 Investigators requested to speak with police several times Monday, but no one was made available.
Watch our report from this weekend on these incidents:
If you do get pulled over in a situation like this, police want you to call 911 and talk with a dispatcher to see if this is a real stop by actual police officers.
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