imported post
ghostrider wrote:
I'm wondering if it was even a cop. She didn't mention any ID by the supposed officer.
That was my immediate thought as well. A man dressed in all black, with no police markings... so I'm assuming also no shiny badge. She didn't mention a utility belt... so no gun? No flashlight? No radio? And how many officers these days WALK beats anymore? Especially alone in a dark neighborhood. She also didn't mention anything about whether or not he asked her for ID.
It very well could have been a citizen trying to look out for the neighborhood, then realized after he scared the poor woman that he screwed up and tried to cover his butt by saying he was a cop.
Edited to Add: My MMQB response would be to cross the street, and if he followed, then I'd turn a corner and cross the street again. If he continued to follow, then I would assume at that point that it was more than mere coincidence and poignantly ask him if he's following me, and if so, then why. If he identified himself as a police officer, I would demand to see ID... if he failed to oblige then I would call the police, right in front of him, to report a man identifying himself as a police officer who is attempting to stop me... then continue about my business. If he continued to follow, I would warn him that I'm trained to defend myself and that I'm armed.
Of course, when I walk at night, I'm usually escorting my German Shepherd... if push came to shove (literally), I'm sure she'd get the first crack at him. She's well trained and she loves her daddy.