Police Impostor Escapes After Run-In With Officer

A man who pulled over two motorists by posing as a policeman was at large Tuesday after scuffling with a wary Los Angeles off-duty officer who spotted the phony traffic stop and intervened, authorities said.

Officer Thomas Baker was headed home at 2:15 p.m. Monday when he noticed that the driver of a sedan outfitted with radios and antennas had pulled over a vehicle on the Harbor Freeway near Manchester Avenue, said Detective Roseanne Parino.

The impostor identified himself to two young men in that car as an off-duty police officer, and when Baker approached, the man “launched into a tirade about reckless driving,” Parino said. The man then lunged at Baker, wrestling for his gun, which had fallen to the ground. As Baker retrieved the gun, the impostor fled.