Example? The man in question allegedly yanked the woman by the hair while trying to take control of her car. And he would have succeeded if she hadn't fought back in a notable and painful (for him) way.
Here's what happened.
Around 10 p.m. on March 31, investigators say a woman noticed a black sedan with a flashing red "dome" style light on her tail as she headed eastbound on East Alameda near Havana.
In response, she pulled into an apartment complex parking lot near Alameda and Jamaica, an area captured in the following interactive graphic. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
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As soon as the man approached her vehicle, the woman had doubts about whether he was legit. For one thing, he was wearing a dark-colored uniform shirt unmarked by anything that identifying him as a cop. So, when the man told her she was speeding, she asked for his badge number.
Rather than giving her this information, the man is said to have grabbed her by the hair as he tried to pluck her keys from the ignition.
She didn't accept this abuse passively. Instead, she slugged the guy in the face, making enough of an impact that he fled the scene.
The suspect is described as a slim, five-foot, ten-inch African-American male with a two-inch vertical scar on his left cheek, short hair up top and none on his face, and a deep voice. In addition to the aforementioned uniform shirt, he sported colored pants with a belt and fingerless gloves.
His vehicle, meanwhile, was possibly a Ford Crown Victoria -- a black-colored sedan with windows tinted dark.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to phone Agent Brim with the District 1 Crimes Against Persons Unit at 303-739-1843 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867), which is offering a reward of up to $2,000 in the case. In the meantime, the APD advises anyone who feels that the person pulling them over may not be an actual officer is advised to try parking in a heavily populated location -- and phoning 911 is always an option.
After all, not every police impersonator can be scared off by a punch to the face.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Colorado Crimes archive circa October 2009: "Have you been pulled over by the worst police impersonator ever?"