Were these guys really the police?

Question

So I was walking down a busy street from my dad's work to my house. As i was walking by a busy restaurant this guy comes up to me. He asked me "Were are you headed" He looked like a complete stranger, so I didn't make eye contact with him and I pointed the way I was walking saying "that way" and just kept walking. As he saw me ignoring him, he came right up to me and "I'm the police...what's your name?" And right when he said that 5 big middle aged men came out of this big black SUV and came towards me. I stopped looked at him and lied and said I was going to go in the restaurant to meet a friend, not telling my name. They all looked at me and said "sorry" than left. None of them were in uniform, and i wish i asked to see there badge. It was all really weird. So could they have been the police? Shouldn't they have shown there badge or something before asking me questions? I'm going to call the police and see if they know anything about that. I'm just glad I happen to be in an area with alot of people bc i really dont know what would have happend..

Answer 1

My guess would be NO, they were not the police...unless, they were undercover for some reason, but even then they would have acted differently. You should call the police and ask... also, if you would have thought of it, you could have gotten the lic. plate number. My daughter is a cop, and I believe this is suspicious. So much of this is going on now, so you were wise to not give him your name. Anyone can go to the uniform shop and buy anything, so even then, one can't be too careful. YOUR a SMART girl!

Answer 2

MOST LIKELY these people are NOT, I repeat not the real cops. Everybody likes to pretend they are cops. If they are real cops what business do they have to asked you questions on a busy streets like that? None I suppose.

Are you a girl for that reason? If you are then I suppose they are interested to your looks or body for that matter and they would like to ask your name or your house or your telephone number...etc. If you are a guy maybe this guy is using psycho or fear factor if you will rattle in the face of fear.

5 middle age men are not conclusion of police officers, imagine the vehicles they are in SUV, they could be robbers or hoodlums, we may never know. Since they sense you are trying to figure things out that is why one said "sorry" and left you or someone saw what these guys is doing with you and left for fear the police might arrive in the scene.

It is really weird, in our day and age anybody can impersonate the King, the Queen or the policemen so donot be surprise whatelse they have in mind out there.

If somebody or someone approach you and openly said "were are you headed or going", think first that this guy is not a cop. The usual way cops bring out their badge first and introduce themselves as "excuse me, I am a police officers(showing his badge), can I ask you a few questions if you don't mind?". The polite way.

The guy introduction is improper, without any recourse just simply asked you "were are you headed" is a sign of hoodlums or gangster. You should have replied "who wants to know?" And if he says "Im a cop!" and you should say "oh..my dad is a cop too! he is in the 7th precinct(just think of the number of precinct in your area) lie if you have too just don't put your guard down....that is the idea here. He is bluffing so do the same thing until you uncover what he is up too. Of couse he will stop when you have said your dad is a cop, he will think of something else, if he stop that is already an indication he is lying. THIS IS THE ART OF PSYCHOLOGY, read books on human behaviour sometimes to give you more idea what people are like.

Answer 3

You have not presented enough information to determine if they were cops or not. They could have been.

The fact that they backed off when you gave them a reasonable answer indicates that they could have been real cops. It sounds like they were looking for somebody who looks like you.

We don't always show badges in a situation like this, where the people we're looking for could be in the area and could see it. We don't want the bad guys to know we are there until we are on top of them.  

Answer 4

Not likely..

Answer 5

well they could have been cops (detectives dont have to wear uniforms) and they probably were looking for someone that fitted you description or they could have been. usually detectives have their badge on their belt. if you didnt see a badge all you can assume is that they are not cops and wished to do something else. ive been downtown before and one person stopped on the other side of the street to ask directions to some place. when i shouted that it was just down the street loud enough for them to hear they told me to come closer. i had a bag full of jewelry (im a currier) so theres no way im gonna go near them.

Answer 6

It is just as possible that they were as it is that they were not police officers. If they were and they had reason to be asking questions, and state that they were police officers, then they SHOULD have shown some ID.

Calling your local police department my be a good idea. It is fairly common today for people to impersonate some law enforcement officer.

Answer 7

They were not the police. Just a bit of advise if that ever happens again, you can ask for a marked unit to stand by before you give them any information and it was a good thing that you didn't. Yes he would have had to identify himself before he could detain you or ask you to go with him. So you did the right thing. You should call the police and give them the information from what you remember, because they may try to do this to some one else. They might not be as smart as you and will go with them and get hurt. Or maybe some has been hurt but you have the missing link to the puzzle on the type of car or what they looked like. I would say call the police and tell them what you know before some body gets hurt. You have information that could prevent that from happening. The chances of five officers getting out of one car are slim to none. Think about it if you were the person they were looking for then where would you have sat in the car. It doesn't happen like that. Only in the movies it happens like that.

Answer 8

Contrary to urban legend, the police don't need to tell you they are the police if you ask them.  When in doubt, invoke your right to remain silent and simply walk away.  Unless the officers have a warrant or probable cause to suspect you've committed a crime, they cannot detain or arrest you.