This may be helpful>>>>

[SweetSue]

These were posted on another site I belong to. I thought they may be of use for some. You decide.

"#77

Cell Phone Feature " #77 " on your cell phone. I never even knew about this #77 feature! This actually happened to
someone's daughter. Gina was 19 yrs old and in college. This story takes
place over the Christmas/New Year's holiday break. It was the Saturday
before New Year's and it was about 1 PM in the afternoon, and Gina was
driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on.
Gina's parents have 4 children (high school and college age) and have
always told them never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of
the road, but rather wait until they get to a gas station, etc. So Gina
had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called #77 on
her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull
over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an
unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there was a police car where she was
and there wasn't and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that
he had back-up already on the way. Ten minutes later 4 cop cars
surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to
her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy
from the car and tackled him to the ground..........the man was a
convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes. I never knew that bit of advice, but especially for a woman alone in a
car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police
have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place. You
obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e., put
on your hazard lights) or call #77 like Gina did. Too bad the cell phone companies don't give you this little bit of
wonderful information. So now it's your turn to let your friends know
about #77."

"Interesting. Last weekend, we just had a case in Fort Collins where this college girl was pulled over apparently by a guy with police lights. They can't find her body as yet."

[MORTARDUDE]

from : http://www.snopes.com/ ( by typing in #77 under seach engine heading )

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/fakecop.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(Although at least in some U.S. states, #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol, that code is not universal. Some states use #77, but others use *55, *47, or *HP, and some don't have any special code at all. Rather than frantically try to figure out which one will work in the area you're in, get around the problem by going straight to 911.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Claim: Rapists sometimes lure their victims by posing as police officers and initiating traffic stops.
Status: True.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002]


This is an actual true story and not one of those Internet stories that are passed on and on. This actually happened to one of my dearest new friend's daughter. Her daughter, Lauren, is 19 yrs. old and a sophomore in college. This happened to her over the Christmas/New Year's holiday break.
It was the Saturday before New Year's and it was about 1 pm in the afternoon. Lauren was driving from here (Winchester, Va.) to visit a friend in Warrenton. For those of you who are familiar with the area, she was taking Rt. 50 East towards Middleburg and then was going to cut over to I-66 via Rt. 17. Those of you who aren't familiar with this area, Rt. 50 East is a main road (55 mph and two lanes each side with a big median separating East/West lanes), but is somewhat secluded, known for it's big horse farms and beautiful country estates.

Lauren was actually following behind a state police car shortly after she left Winchester and was going just over 65 mph since she was following behind him. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. My friend and her husband have 4 children (high school and college age) and have always told them never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather wait until they get to a gas station, etc. So Lauren actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called #77 on her cell phone to tell the dispatcher that she would not pull over right away.

She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there were 2 police cars, one unmarked behind her and one marked in front of her. The dispatcher checked to confirm that there were 2 police cars where she was. There wasn't and she was connected to the policeman in front of her. He told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back-up already on the way.

Ten minutes later, 4 police cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground ... the man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes. Thank God Lauren listened to her parents! She was shaken up, but fine.

I never knew that bit of advice, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should NEVER pull over for an unmarked car in a secluded area. In fact, even a marked car after dark should follow you to a populated area. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e. put on your hazard lights) or call #77 like Lauren did.

I am so thankful that my friend was sitting at our book club meeting telling us this scary story, rather than us at her house consoling her had something tragic occurred!

Be safe and pass this on to your friends. Awareness is everything!




Variations:


A March 2002 version changes the girl's name from Lauren to Lisa.

Origins: We have no way of telling if this is an "actual true story and not one of those Internet stories that are passed on and on" -- the details given in the account aren't sufficient to assist us in confirming the tale, and searches through online news databases based on what little is included (that the incident happened in Virginia in the last week of December 2001) don't fetch any articles about an arrest made or charges laid in such a case. And some of the details in the story give us pause: Why didn't the fleeing woman speed up, flash her lights, or honk her horn to attract the attention of the police car in front of her? And how did the real police car fail to notice the warning lights of the phony, unmarked police car?

Whether this particular tale is true or not, women driving alone have been sexually assaulted by rapists pretending to be police officers, so the advice it gives (to not pull over in deserted areas when signaled to do so by an unmarked police vehicle) is well worth heeding. Keep driving until you get to a well-lit area where there are others about. Call 911 and tell them what's happening. (Although in at least in some U.S. states, #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol, that code is not universal. Some states use #77, but others use *55, *47, or *HP, and some don't have any special code at all. Rather than frantically try to figure out which one will work in the area you're in, get around the problem by going straight to 911.)

The instance of rapists and murderers pretending to be police officers is not of epidemic proportions, but enough incidents of this nature have occurred that precautions are warranted.

In 1948 in Los Angeles, Caryl Chessman successfully robbed couples and sexually assaulted a number of women in California after first fooling them into believing he was a police officer by flashing a red light at their vehicles. (Though often he approached parked cars this way, in at least one case he managed to pull over a car that was driving on Pacific Coast Highway.) His method of approach earned him the nickname of "The Red Light Bandit." Chessman was executed on a kidnapping charge in 1960, but only after gaining fame for writing three books while in prison (most notably Cell 2455 Death Row) and becoming the focus of the then nascent movement to abolish the death penalty.

Since then others have used similar ruses to isolate their victims. More recently, in 1997 Arkansas was plagued by its "blue light rapist" who assaulted three women after first luring them to the side of the road with the help of a police-style blue light mounted on his car. Robert Todd Burmingham was sentenced in 1998 to 80 years in prison for rape, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery.

In 2000, a Tampa woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had put a flashing blue and red light atop his car and motioned her off the road as if he was a police officer. After she admitted she had been drinking, he offered to drive her home; she got into his car, and he took her to an isolated location where he raped her. That case is still open.

Someone who has taken to impersonating a police officer for nefarious purposes is counting upon his intended victim's unquestioning cooperation. Because he appears in the guise of a trusted authority figure whose commands must be obeyed, he expects automatic reaction to kick in even if it overrides common sense. That could prove a fatal error to make.

In 1996 Governor Pataki issued an executive order to prevent unmarked New York state police cars from stopping motorists for routine traffic violations, citing "a growing number of cases around the country in which criminals trap their victims by posing as police officers." If he's worried about it, you should be too.

Barbara "worry thwart" Mikkelson

Last updated: 29 April 2002



The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/fakecop.htm
Click here to e-mail this page to a friend
Urban Legends Reference Pages ? 1995-2002
by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson
This material may not be reproduced without permission



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
Dao, James. "Pataki Curbs Unmarked Cars' Use."
The New York Times. 18 April 1996 (p. B5).

Gallman, Judith. "Cop Ruse Popular Among Serial Killers."
Arkansas Times. 1 August 1997.

Thompson, Stephen. "Police Impersonator Rapes Motorist."
The Tampa Tribune. 17 October 2000 (Metro, p. 4).

The Associated Press. "Woman Says Man Impersonated Cop."
19 November 1998.

The Associated Press. "Alleged 'Blue Light Rapist' Sentenced To 80 Years."
23 November 1998.

[SweetSue]

thanks Mortardude. It is nice to have that confirmed!
What a world eh?????
Have a good day!
Susan