CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities are searching for a police impersonator who they say attacked and robbed a man.
Neighbors in one Clayton County neighborhood told Channel 2's Wendy Halloran they aren't taking any chances until he's caught.
Gregory Smith said he saw a real Clayton County officer rushing to the scene along McDonough Road near Folsom Road in Hampton on Friday night
“The car I saw was a regular Clayton County (cruiser) with Clayton County on the side, I think he was going where it happened at,” Smith said.
He thought there was a bad accident. But that’s not what happened.
Clayton County police say a man driving a newer model black Chevy Caprice with blue lights in the grill and dash pulled over a man and told him he was a Clayton County sheriff’s deputy.
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The fake deputy told the man he had a warrant out for his arrest and then made him get out of the car. When the driver refused, he was met with violence.
The fake cop pulled him out of the car, beat him up and slapped handcuffs on him.
Neighbor and Marine Corp veteran Randolph Sexton told Halloran the whole thing is despicable.
“I think it’s horrendous, you know, to have that sort of crime being committed,” Sexton said.
After pretending to search the man’s car, investigators said the phony cop let him go and took off.
The victim then realized the money in his wallet was gone.
“It just further creates a detriment to law enforcement; it makes their job that much harder,” Sexton said.
The suspect is described as a stocky white man with a deep voice, between 35- to 40-years-old.
He's about 6 feet tall and has brown hair in a buzz cut.
Barbara Smith told Halloran the incident has left her petrified.
“We have imitators out here, so what are we supposed to do? It could very well be a real officer, but we are so apprehensive and fearful that it’s one of these impersonators that it makes it bad,” Barbara Smith said.
Investigators said officers and deputies in Clayton County do not drive Chevy Caprices.
If you are pulled over by a vehicle matching the description, investigators say to drive to the nearest police precinct or an area where you see a lot of people and call 911.