So I had an interesting interaction with what may or may not be a police officer.

Back story: I just bought an E30 a few days ago and am driving it without the tag(I have 7 days from the purchase to tag it in GA). I'm not doing it to be a dick, my Camry is in pieces right now.

So, I was getting on an interstate with very little traffic and got up to the usual 5-10 mph over. Well, I see a pair of headlights coming up in the left lane and dude passes me going well over 100 mph in a Hyundai. The speed limit is 65 on this stretch. I keep doing my same thing and get off at the next exit like I had planned and noticed he had gotten off too and was turning right at the light like me. I notice he has one of those black and blue, "don't pull me over because I bought this sticker", sticker on the back of his car. It was green and I was in an E30 so I took it at a pretty good speed. I got within 20-30 feet behind(not very close at all) and I'm laughing. I continue to go 5 over and catch him at the next light. I'm behind him laughing still at him driving like an shiny happy person. He pulls off in a parking lot to the right and then pulls back out behind me about 2 cars back. So I continue laughing because I think he is now getting mad. I pull into the bank parking lot I was planning on and he follows in flashing his brights at me.

So here's where it starts to get fun. He gets out of his car and walks up to my door asking me for my license and tells me I am driving with out a tag all in the same breath. Didn't say he was a cop or anything. I told him that I just bought the car. I didn't even pull out my license or anything. He then asks me where I live. I tell him and he tells me I have 5 minutes to get home. I told him I was going to the bank and he got in his car and left.

The guy was nervous as hell. If he was a cop, he was very bad at it. I almost don't think he is a cop or he is just training or something.

TL;DR: I got pulled over by a Korean dude in a Hyundai that had that blue and black "cop" sticker on the back of his car for laughing at him for getting stuck at every light.

One word when he asked for my license. "Badge."

If the badge wasn't promptly shown he would get two more words. "berkeley off".

Then the video from my dash camera would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities.

It doesn't sound like he was a cop to me either

I didn't even think he was gonna play cop thing so it kinda caught me off guard. I thought he was gonna pull up next to me so I could continue laughing at his pathetic driving. I thought about it afterwards, hind sight is 20/20. Oh well.

Badge or 911.

Yep. I'd notify the locals. They don't usually look kindly on non-officers trying the whole "I might be a cop" thing. More likely its a "wanna be" (Mall cop, reserve, security or student cop) trying to flex some muscle/authority they don't really have. Any real cop approaching your vehicle in plain clothes is going to be shoving a badge in your face before they say the first word to you.

What is this black and blue, "don't pull me over because I bought this sticker", sticker?
Is that some local thing?

In reply to JohnRW1621:

This thing.

I vote for most likely to be arrested for impersonating a police officer. Probably too nuts to get into the police academy. Would never have told him where I live. Real cops don't drive Hyundais.

Learned something new tonight. About that sticker.

In reply to ncjay:

Oh, I just said the town. Which was exactly where we were. I didn't tell him my street address.

After being in the Marine Corps and having to deal with other Marines out in town that were obviously above my rank, I just stick to being tactful. I just wish I would of thought of asking for his badge.

OHSCrifle wrote: Learned something new tonight. About that sticker.

Me too.

Wiki on the Thin Blue Line

Well played. It's all well and good to play tough guy on the internet, but you never know what kind of crazy you are going to encounter in the real world.

Weird story dude. I think you did it all just right. Would love to have told him to berkeley off, but again, you never know what kind of crazy you'll unleash.

I had an elderly gentleman want to give me some curbside lessons one time. Pulled in at Walmart, ol boy gets out of his car cussin' and spittin' like I'd kicked his dog. I simply said "Are you a cop" he didn't reply. I then said "Well, your silence tells me you are not law enforcement. And you are CLEARLY not my mother. And since those are the only two people I would permit talking to me in that fashion, I suggest you shut the eff up and leave" Stunned he replies "WELL berkeley YOU" and scampers off. I had a good laugh over that one.

Yeah here the blue line front license plate or sticker is "Don't pull me over for being a douche because either me or someone in my immediate family is a cop" they also have FOP license plates here that only people in the FOP or their spouses can run on their cars.

moparman76_69 wrote: Yeah here the blue line front license plate or sticker is "Don't pull me over for being a douche because either me or someone in my immediate family is a cop" they also have FOP license plates here that only people in the FOP or their spouses can run on their cars.

You mean it's not a new version of the rainbow or the pink triangle? Maybe that's why they get so mad when I make buttsex gestures at them.

What you should've done: http://youtu.be/x4S2Ccv9Iy4

If someone starts following and flashing brights at me, I'm not stopping for them. If by chance I get stuck at a light with them and they approach my car I'd have 911 dialed and a weapon drawn but out of their view.

Unfortunately a badge isnt a definive way to check. Mall cops and the like have things that look very similar of flashed quickly or low visabilty. There have been a half-dozen cases of impersonators here and in Phoenix the past few years.

http://www.kvoa.com/news/tucson-police-searching-for-law-enforcement-impersonators/

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-west-valley/glendale/pd-police-impersonator-on-the-loose-in-glendale

Its inadvisable to pull over for an unmarked car, let alone one that doesn't look like a cop car driven by a person not in a uniform, call 911, explain, request a marked car, (In MI this basically guarantees state police), and wait for the marked car to come pull you both over and sort it out.

State cops hate it when they have to go deal with local cops harassing people like that, so even if does turn out to be real police, you're in the clear.

He's a wannabe, couldn't pass the written exam. He's on the list to be a volunteer firemen.

You see a lot of this in Illinois - people put these badges or stickers on the back.

Once I asked a police chief that was dating my wife's coworker if he could "get me that sticker that gets me out of tickets" for the back of my car. He explained for 15 minutes why he couldn't. (I was 26 years old and a smart aleck)

I wanna make stickers that say "Praternal Order of Politics" but looks exactly like FOP sticker, though I'd probably get pulled over more often.

Not a cop.

I'd call it in just to let locals know what some DB is trying to pull out there. If you have the tag or any partials from the tag that would be a bonus. You already have the make and model so that is good. Didn't say where in GA you were but I automatically assume the ATL. Lots of crazies running around there.

The sticker used to be a cop thing. I'd guess some legit cops still use it. I tend to think nowadays that most cars running the sticker probably need to be pulled over and checked. Same for those sheriff's office support sticker in FL and other states.

Don't berkeley with other drivers.

In my opinion only a fool would have one of those blue line stickers on a car. Well, either a fool or a wannabe cop.

If I was going to burglarize a car I would break into the car with a blue line sticker...or an nra sticker...or a gun manufacturer sticker...

Pretty good chance there is a gun in the car. And I have talked to burglars who knew to look for those stickers.