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Following on this week’s story of the no-knock raid that claimed a Texas Deputy’s life, a story coming out of Manchester, NH has two guys posing as cops who knock on a door, show their “badges,” tell the homeowner and his daughter that they are searching for a dangerous fugitive, handcuff them (for their own safety of course) and then proceed to rob the place. Taken were cash, cellphones, a gun, passports, and other items.  The passports are the most interesting as those are things that would not be of much value to the low level junkie – you have to know where to sell those to get top dollar . . .

This was clearly a well-planned and well-executed crime.  Quite honestly, given how easy it is to procure an official looking badge and how simple it is to crank out an official looking ID using a computer, I’m really surprised that this sort of thing is not happening all the time.  My bet – watch for an increase in these sorts of crimes.

This scenario has the makings of another watershed moment in the decline of relations between the police and the policed.  If we ever get to the point where fake cops are regularly committing crimes, its going to get very dangerous for SWAT no-knocks, plus people will have a legitimate defense when they unknowingly take down a real LEO.

I’ve said it once and I’ll keep saying it – Community Policing is the way to go.  Get the cowboys off the force and get the police back to interacting with the community on a more friendly note.  Law abiding folks need to see the cops as their friends and neighbors, not as the jackbooted agents of the state.  Only anarchy lies in that direction.

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60 COMMENTS

        • They’ll just have to get over it. I ain’t opening my door to someone I don’t know til I know, you know.

        • CT over the years has had some very high profile incidents with fake cops and unmarked cars. In CT if you are stopped by an unmarked car you have the right to have a marked car come to your location and officer cannot refuse. You also can continue and stop in a more lighted area and the courts have said it is not a failure to stop. Fake cops is not new it is just surprising it is not more frequent because most people are trained to do exactly what the police say to do – in ways it is much better than having a gun and busting in because you are doing in a position of fake authority.

      • Yeah, right.
        And when I fart, a rainbow of delicious Skittles comes out of my ass.

        They don’t mind the caution, as long as you don’t ‘interfere with them in the performance of their duty’ for more than 1/10th of a second by being cautious.

        Whenever there’s a ‘fake cop’ crime locally, you’ll see the sheriff on the TV news, telling you that state law requires all cops to present ID when requested, and all cops are glad to comply with the law. I tried that a couple of times, but I’ve never seen a cops’ ID. I did come very close to getting the shit beat out of me for expecting cops to obey the law before I backed down seconds after making my lawful request.

        • Were you asking to see the id of uniform and badge wearing guys driving a black and white? I’ve never had a civvy dressed cop refuse me id.

      • “Agreed. Call 911 to confirm. Real cops won’t mind the caution???”
        Yeah sure. Man are you lost on this one. If the cops come to your door and you think you’re going to make phone calls while they wait around outside, you know NOTHING about cops. Real cops with a real search warrant ARE NOT waiting for ANYTHING. You will open the door tight f—-ing now or it’s getting kicked in. Real cops don’t give a shit.

        • These guys didn’t have a search warrent. They bluffed their way in by telling the resident they were looking for a bad guy. If somebody comes to my door and tells me they’re a cop and they’re searching the neighberhood for a suspect and would I please let them in I’m telling them I’m calling 911 to confirm their id.

          If they have a warrent they ain’t asking permission. But that ain’t the situation that was described in the post.

        • I live in a condo building and about a year and a half ago the police were called out because a neighbor thought someone kicked the basement door in. (false alarm)

          After opening the door at 3am to “(name of the town) police, open up”. the officer actually asked me if i confirmed with 911 that it really was the police before answering the door. He advised to never open the door without checking that there was an officer dispatched to that address.

          like Jim said, it’s all about community policing. get to know the guys working your neighborhood and you’ll be amazed how the relationship is different when when things go sideways in the middle of the night.

        • I’ve lived most of my life in Italy, and there cops actually encourage you to do that, because, you know, any taylor can do a cop uniform. Besides, during the Lead Years there were many cases of domestic terrorism where the perpetrators used police or military uniforms to carry assassinations.

    • You do mean that you should always be carrying, even in the comfort of your own home.911? I wouldn’t leave that to chance…

  3. My idea.

    Disband SWAT units , and redirect the money to training the lowly patrol officers.I’d rather have a PD staffed with patrol sharpshooters then one of glorified radio jockeys, directed to call HQ at the first shot fired so the boss can get permission to call in the real gunslingers.By then the bad guys killed who they want to, including other officers , and time is wasted as the slow wheels of bureaucracy catch up.

    Police officers have taken down rifle armed scumbags at 70+ yards with their duty pistols. So lets put away the MRAPS and get the line patrol cops back on the practice range.
    As to the insistence that LE always “outrun” bad guys, give it up.The connected thugs don’t have a budget, don’t answer to a constituency, and don’t have to care about community relations.The bad guys can and will use whatever weapon they choose, and it will probably outdo the patrol officers loadout.It’s just a fact of life.The scumbag gets to pick the time and place of the attack, as well as the hardware.The good guys don’t.

    As to criminals pretending to be cops, some basic knowledge of police procedure is in order on the part of the citizen.Does the guy walking up to your door with a PD badge have a close cut hairdo? It should set off red flags when a man in a patrol uniform has a raggedy mullet and beard.

    Yes, there are undercover officers out there ,but you’d have to be up to some mischief to run into them.I can’t see a deep cover DEA Agent responding to a noise complaint unless you have one high azz stereo.

    • Plus a ratty old Ford Ranger or whatever hoopty they may be driving probably isn’t in the police motor pool.

  4. Gee, Barrett… this is just ONE of the reasons that RKBA folks can’t go running off at the mouth spreading disinformation about the 2A. I agree with your conclusions in this article BUT your willful ignorance about appeasement and the gun control crowd doesn’t make sense. Government will only be limited when it is forced to. That is why, A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

    When you wake up about what the RKBA and shall not be infringed is all about, hopefully I’ll be around to read it.

  5. And yet we the lowly proletariat are still expected to comply with
    orders from LE, never once question them during an incident
    and let the lawyers duke it out later.

  6. Everyone should have a hard peek slide on their door. Open the door with slide on, fake your courtesy with the officer and seem genuinely concerned and happy to help. Tell them just a second as you close the door so you can undo the slide to let them in. Hit the deadbolt and call 911.

    • Id prefer just to tell them whatever it takes to get em to leave THROUGH the door, no opening required 🙂

      Plus my hands can be doing whatever they need to do without worrying about someone watching.

      • My advice is based on whether you genuinely think the jig is up. If so, you don’t want to be trying to get them to leave without some security. You might get the door flying into your face, especially if you are older, etc. You can play both sides of the card by playing fake nice. If you are wrong, you were still “nice”. If you are right…they probably already took off once you hit the deadbolt and they realized you just deceived them. That will scare them.
        Having the slide on the door always give you a need to have to close the door regardless.

        • Or, have a very strong door with intercom system. You can always verify without even having to open the door. Whoever has something worth stealing should have the awareness to want to spend some bucks on a system like that. I don’t own a home yet — when I do, I will have surveillance and the sticker on the door so people know it.

  9. two men broke into a home in the town next to mine. as they broke in, they were shouting that they were the sheriff. unfortunate for them, the home owner was a sheriff and he opened fire on them. the home owner being a leo failed to hit them, but i still think they learned their lesson for posing as cops.

  10. NEVER, EVER (yes, I’m shouting) open the door to your house or apartment for the police. The only way they can come in (with some new fascist exceptions) is with a warrant and if they have a warrant they won’t be knocking, they’ll be busting your door down with guns a-blazing.

    One good strategy is to remain quiet and don’t even talk to them. Hopefully this will help with these kinds of crooks.

    A no-knock raid by government cops fascist thugs still puts the homeowner/victim in a terrible quandary.

    • the problem with this is the police might be stopping by for many reasons. a criminal investigation, missing child, returning found/or stolen property, canvassing the neighborhood after a break in etc. the police are not always out to get you (unless you do stupid things with stupid people in stupid places) Most people only ever have contact with the police from a traffic stop.

      Not answering your door when the police knock at all only shows that you don’t care about your neighbors, neighborhood, and your community. and selfishness like that is how crimnals end up getting away with what they do.

      I’ve been a cop for 14 years and have found that most people want crime stopped in their neighborhood but don’t want to be involved. when a community gets involved with their own safety and security, keeping an eye out for their neighbors and neighborhood, calling the police on people doing suspicious things. See a vehicle or person that doesn’t belong (you know what comes and goes in your neighborhood) keep an eye on it. Talk to your neighbors, get to know them, don’t be a hermit. When a community does this the people doing break-ins, and larcenies go somewhere else.

      • No, not immediately being a cop’s punk shows that you do actually care about your neighbors, your state, and your community.

        You’re just another Ricky Ranger Dolt who thinks being a thug is doing ‘something good’ for us poor proles. FT&FY.

      • I once threatened to smash a door in when a loud party of idiot teenagers wouldn’t open it when I was searching for a young missing girl (15 or 16 yo) who had last been seen hours ago on the block wandering around drugged in her underwear. They were afraid I was going to write them underage booze tickets or something I guess. I don’t know what would have happened to me if they didn’t come to their senses and open the door to talk to me, but I’m very glad they did.

    • I truly wish people who think like this could live in a walled off area of their region- or an island- without police. Better for everyone! But that’s not how it is, and they are the first to complain about the incompetence of cops when suddenly they are the victim and none of the witnesses answer the door.

  11. I agree with community policing…. the problem is the community you want your officer to police is ever expanding as cuts are made and staffing levels get low. I try to know the folks in my patrol area but I have contact with a very small portion of them the biggest portion of my time.

    As for the folks posing as cops doing home invasion robberies, I didn’t notice if they were posing in uniform or plain clothes, IF the police are going to do a Search warrant they will nearly always be accompanied by a MARKED CAR and an UNIFORMED officer, if you don’t see that red flags should go up dial up 911 and confirm before you let them in.

    • Staffing levels are only low in propaganda/fantasy land. There are more coppers, with more Fed/State funding than ever in the history of the Nation.

      Statists like you won’t be happy till there’s one per citizen, maybe two.

      • I’m getting sick of reading crappy comments like this. The particular officer you’re responding to is obviously more cognizant/gracious than most just judging by his posts on here. Save the internet tough guy routine for people who care, because no one here does.

        • I give not a single eff what you think about the scientific-non-debatable facts. Until you have a factual argument, stow it.

          Save the internet-pantywaist viewpoint for those who care.

      • The economy has done a pretty serious number on LE.
        Don’t think for a second that Fed, State, County or even
        local politicians would dare sacrifice a non-essential feel
        good program in order to give LE Depts a decent Budget.
        Add to this the amount of unfunded training requirements.
        You also have to look at where all the LE is. The number of
        LEOs is usually governed by population. This is also the
        main factor for the Feds and States to determine the amount
        of money each Dept gets. On paper this works well, in
        practice, not so much. For instance, the county I live in has
        approx 50K. At any given time there are 6 Sheriff Deputies
        and Troopers on duty. The downside is the county is larger
        than Rhode Island. This means that a huge chunk of the
        budget indeed does not go to pay LEOs. It goes to pay for
        fuel. It is not uncommon for patrol cars to use $50-$100 in
        gas per day. There is no allowance to make up for the
        increased costs of patrolling. The budget stays fixed to pop.
        In short, many Depts actually are in serious financial straits
        to the point where they have to cut services and it is not
        due to fat cat bureaucrats who wear a badge.

    • Gary, Indiana cried to the state about this, wanting the State Police to send up more bodies. Instead the state sent up a study group.

      “Why do you only have 35% of your payroll out on patrol.”
      “uhhh….”
      ….
      “We’re above average (65% IIRC) and we still gots thugs! Now can we get free help?”
      “Hmm, no, you played games with your records. Keep trying”
      “Waaaaaa”

  12. Kinda like the contest entry story a few weeks ago about someone acting like police to get in…
    Its definitely a real posibility. Ive heard of this happening on more than a few occasions now.
    A lot of peoples reactions are to follow orders from a supposed LEO, and do so without thinking, which could turn out to be a deadly mistake.
    Hell, I know a lot about law enforcement and even I would have to think twice if someone knocked claiming to be police, its more what the average person is conditioned to more than anything else.
    Dont ever open the door until you are POSITIVE who you’re actually opening it for. Call dispatch and verify that theres a unit at your location. If itS actually police they wont mind, of its a no knock warrant they are gonna kick it down and shoot your dog anyway so you wont even need to do that.

  13. Versions of this scam are common in Houston. This past week saw home invaders posing as postal employees conning their way in. Off the top of my head, within the past year we’ve also seen home invaders pose as police, utility workers, real estate agents, and package deliverymen.

    Sometimes it’s just one acting alone, other times it’s a team. With teams, sometimes two are at the door, while other times it’s one at the door with others around the corner waiting to rush in.

    No matter who someone claims to be, always call to verify whether they’re legitimate if they want access to your house. Look up the number yourself, too, and don’t use the one they provide. The phony supervisor call-in number is another known ruse.

    Oh yeah, almost forgot, have a household firearm and know how to use it.

  14. People worry about fake cops in uniforms or marked cars, but that’s not what happens. Instead you get things like this… guys who buy a badge somewhere and then pretend to be ‘undercover’ or detectives. The Wire did a nice rendition of a gangbanger in an ill-fitting suit with just such a badge. At the least guys like this will try to get free food or pick up girls, at worse you get something like the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.

    99% of police coming to your door to ask you to turn your music down, find a missing person or ask about if you heard your neighbor getting killed last night will be in full uniform or have a uniformed officer with them. If not, ask for their name \ ID and call the department. Or, hell, even if they are in uniform if you want. In a car imposters will generally have a bubble light or something while unmarked police cars light up like Christmas trees.

    • Fake cops do happen. No, they’re not in full gear matched to perfection with real cops. It can be as basic as a t-shirt with “POLICE” printed across the front. There’ve been cases of guys in regular sedans with a single bulb, magnetic mount strobe light on the roof pulling women over and assaulting them.

      Of course, there’ve been cases of actual, on duty cops committing sex crimes, too. In Dec. an HPD officer was convicted of raping, whike he was on duty, an illegal alien working as a waitress. He figured she wouldn’t know her rights or wouldn’t report it. Others have been busted for stopping women, then demanding sex to get out of a ticket.

      Crap like this is out of very bad cable t.v. movies, but it happens. The only ones to be more wary of than fake cops, are real cops.

  15. Live at the end of a long private road hidden from main road , the only folks that come back here are family or the mail person , others that happen to accidentally come back here are looked upon suspiciously , plus I always carry at least a .38 snubby with me , also used to be a deputy kinda keep up with what goes on around here ,will not end up being taken advantage of , will envolk my Castle Law Doctrine if need be ! Be prepared and ready. Keep your powder dry.

  16. The reason that Manchester has a relatively newly found (last 10-15 yrs) crime problem is because of the community policing efforts in the high crime cities on the NH/MA border. Lowell, Lawrence, etc. instituted these programs in the mid 90s and the criminal element has slowly and surely ranged North. I will bet dollars to donuts that when these suspects are apprehended in this case they are MA residents or recent transplants.

  17. No knock warrants should be illegal,but they never will be.As a result everyone is at risk ,because as previous cases have shown LE raid the wrong house,or an informant might name you to protect themselves.Maybe you are a neighbor and your name pops in their head.What do they care that you are innocent.

    The adrenaline is surging.Holding back the wave of LE to confirm their identity is to LE just a ploy to delay entry.Remember they are there to arrest you.

  18. Has anyone ever heard of a case where a homeowner refused to let fake cops in without a warrant? I’m curious what happened if such a thing has occurred…

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