2 charged with impersonating Calgary police

Calgary police have charged two people with impersonating a police officer after the pair tried to pull over three young women earlier this week.

A man and a teenage male allegedly tried to pull over several people Monday while driving a green Honda Accord with a blue flashing strobe light on the roof.

In one instance in Hidden Valley, "they pulled up beside the three young female adults, identified themselves as police, advised them they were under arrest and told them to get in the car," Acting Sgt. James Dore told CBC News.

"Obviously something wasn't right, common sense prevailed, and they ran off to a nearby store and called police."

Dore said police received "several"similar calls throughout the night reporting the pair attempting to pull over vehicles, similar to a police traffic stop. In those cases, when the driver pulled over, the suspects would speed away.

Police found the suspect's vehicle in the city's south end. Police said the pair's motivation is unknown, but both have been charged with impersonating an officer. Their names are being withheld due to the ongoing investigation.

"It's a very serious offence. We can't have our confidencein the public eroded. It's very important that we're able to conduct our jobs, and if people don't trust the police, or they're worried, it can make our jobs very difficult," Dore said.

Dore remindedthe public that the majority of traffic stops are conducted in marked vehicles or in unmarked vehicles driven by police officers dressed in full uniform.

These vehicles will have a red-and-blue strobe light inside the car. He added that officers always carry identification and drivers have the right to request to see the identification.