Ann Arbor police say gunman posing as officer robbed residents of cash
A man dressed as a police officer and carrying a handgun forced his way inside a home in Ann Arbor and bound the residents inside, city police said.
Police released a composite sketch of the man today and asked the public for help identifying him.
Ann Arbor police are looking for this man.
The robbery occurred at about 1 a.m. Saturday at an apartment in the 2100 block of St. Francis Drive.
Detective Bill Stanford said a man knocked on the door, identified himself as "police," and ordered the residents to open up. They did not open the door, and the man forced his way into a side door, Stanford said.
The residents hid, and the man found them and bound them, Stanford said.
The police impostor was wearing black clothing, black boots, a raid vest that said "police" in white block letters, black baseball cap and gloves. He was carrying a flashlight and gun and was speaking through a walkie-talkie radio - although Stanford said there's no evidence he was talking to anyone.
After stealing money, the man left the apartment. No vehicle was seen.
The residents were able to get out of the restraints. They didn't report the incident until morning because they thought it might have been an actual officer conducting a raid, police said.
There's no evidence anyone else was involved, Stanford said.
The man was described as 27 to 35 years old, 6 feet 4 inches tall, and 230 pounds. Stanford asked anyone with information to call him at 734-794-6930, ext. 49318, the anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939 or e-mail TIPS@a2gov.org.
Comments
goodie13
Tue, Apr 6, 2010 : 1:54 p.m.
First question is who gets raided???? This should say mounds about the facts of this story.
krc
Fri, Apr 2, 2010 : 8:03 a.m.
Umm, There are always multiple members of law enforcement when a raid is conducted. So here's a tip: Don't open the door if there is only one "Police officer" outside. And if you don't have apeephole in your door, don't open it. If it's a real raid, they will break the door down to get in.
b_ketch
Thu, Apr 1, 2010 : 2:13 p.m.
The only apartment building on the 2100 block of St. Francis is the one directly across the church - we lived there several years ago. There was buzzer entry for the 2 main entrances to the building, & all apartments in that building had sliding glass doors (first-floor residents had an enclosed area near ground level outside their door). It's possible the buzzer system no longer works, or one of the main doors were propped open, but the fact that someone knocked on the door & then forced his way in through a sliding glass door does seem weird.
Holmes1
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.
It sure does! Buzzer still works, and the exterior doors remain locked. And the apartment involved IS ground level -- right across from the church.
Cathy
Thu, Apr 1, 2010 : 6:56 a.m.
I think that we should trust the police that they have reasons to feel that this situation is real. They can't tell us all that they know about what happened since it can jeopardize their investigation. If they are looking for this man then I am sure they have reasons to do so. When people are in shock, they don't always think rationally either so the victims may have not been thinking straight for several hours. Not everyone thinks the police are the "good guys" and they may have been scared to contact them with what happened. Maybe once they realized that the person was an imposter, they were scared to report it for fear of retaliation. I am just saying that there is usually alot more to a situation than meets the eye.......
Holmes1
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 6:36 p.m.
Yeah, drugs.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Apr 1, 2010 : 4:31 a.m.
Got to make sure the apartment is clean before the real police arrive.
racerx
Thu, Apr 1, 2010 : 3:18 a.m.
Since race wasn't mentioned, I'm going to assume the perp was white, since black is always mentioned and this case it wasn't. So a man between 27 to 35 years old, 6'4". Oh, yeah, there he is on that corner! No wait, there he is over there at the mall! But wait I saw him at Whole Foods! Must have a twin, because I saw him at Borders! Hey, how'd he get downtown so quick? There he is at the park....
J. Sorensen
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 11:24 p.m.
Maybe a real raid? Would a real police officer tie you up, not show proper ID, leave you tied up and never announce why he was there? I would have been on the phone to the "real" police the moment I freed myself. Something suspicious in this one indeed.
nowayjose
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 9:54 p.m.
Yeah real hard. A couple clicks of the mouse and you can have yourself a raid vest.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 9:51 p.m.
Actually para military vests are easy to come by and cheap. As one example. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/SearchResults.aspx?catid=1126&site=All+Products&num=10&q=vest Mocking up a POLICE tag or even getting one made to put on the back of it wouldn't be too difficult. While your point is taken, let's not paint with too broad a brush, eh?
a2huron
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 5:26 p.m.
Do actual officers typically steal $ when conducting raids? I think not. So for these folks to wait until morning to call it in tells me that something is not right here. No way they realistically thought this could be real.
sheeple
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.
He forced his way through the side door of an apartment? How many apartments have multiple doors?
Lokalisierung
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 3:36 p.m.
Now this is the problem right here. i think if you suspect funny business you should call 911 and make sure the cops are real. Of course then the guy can just force himself in your house. And if it is a cop and you don't open up hey there's possibly another offense for you. And I usually have my gun near me when I open a door...this could get very weird.
tdw
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 3:23 p.m.
This one sounds fishy