WILKES-BARRE - The pickup had been following her for blocks.

Its driver was waving for Tierney Beamer to pull over, and he didn't seem happy, she said. Beamer, who was with a 23-year-old friend, refused.

"I'm in South Wilkes-Barre with another female in the car," said Beamer, a 24-year-old hairstylist. "If you think I'm ever going to pull over for a red pickup truck down here, you're out of your mind."

But when she called 911, Beamer found out it was in fact an off-duty Wilkes-Barre police officer, she said. She got two citations in the mail, and filed a complaint against the officer, Richard Harding, on Tuesday, she said.

"He wasn't in a uniform or anything," said Beamer's mother, Angela Evans Gavlick, who added that she has heard about similar instances involving Harding. She posted a warning on Facebook about the situation and implored women not to stop for unmarked vehicles.

"That's how women get murdered, raped," she said by phone Wednesday.

The police department, however, disputes Beamer's version of events. City spokeswoman Liza Prokop acknowledged Harding was in his personal vehicle when he saw Beamer commit a traffic violation but said he did not try to stop her.

"He made no attempt to pull her over," Prokop said. "He did get close enough to get her license plate to write a citation."

Department policy allows off-duty officers to file citations via mail for violations they witness, but not stop the offender and issue them in person, she said.

The police department did not release specifics of the incident involving Beamer, citing an ongoing internal investigation.

Beamer said the incident took place the evening of Oct. 23, after she and her friend got done with dinner at Rodano's at 53 Public Square. They had been talking about Coughlin High School, and Beamer noted she'd never seen the front of the school, she said. When they left, Beamer went to take a look, she said.

With her car stopped at a red light at Market and South Washington streets, she inched forward and looked to the left before making a right onto South Washington, she said.

"After I went, this red truck flies up to the back of me," Beamer said. "He's coming on my left side, and I could tell that he was not happy with me turning."

Beamer said she drove toward East South Street with the truck on her left side. Vehicles were parked on the right, so she accelerated to get in front and then merged to the left to avoid them, she said.

It seemed the truck was following them, so Beamer decided to make several turns to check, she said.

She ended up making a left onto South Main Street and came to a stoplight at Academy Street, where the man in the truck pulled alongside her, she said.

"He's waving his arms, rolling his window down, trying to flash a badge at me," Beamer said. "I look at her and I'm like, 'This guy is probably a security guard at King's College trying to pull me over.'"

She said the man seemed "crazy," so she called 911 and turned right onto Academy Street, then Franklin Street. The truck stopped following her at that intersection, but she soon got some bad news.

"I was like, 'OK, nevermind. He's not behind me anymore,'" she said. "(The call-taker) goes, 'Well that was a police officer, and you're getting two citations in the mail."

Court records show Harding filed two citations for failing to stop at a red light and careless driving.

The citations allege she ran a red light at Market and South Washington streets and then, while in the right lane, quickly accelerated and swerved into the path of traffic to her left at South Washington near East Northampton, nearly causing an accident.

During a summary trial Tuesday, Magisterial District Judge Martin Kane found Beamer not guilty of running the red light but guilty of careless driving. She was ordered to pay $130 in fines and court costs, records show.

Beamer and her stepfather went to police headquarters on Tuesday and filed a formal complaint, she said. She told a supervisor what had happened, and was told police would investigate, she said.

Police told her she would hear back in several weeks after Harding responded and a superior makes a decision, she said.

Sworn officers do have police powers even while off duty, Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said.

"Legally they have the authority to do it, but usually the departments have a policy about it," Sanguedolce said.

State police, for example, have to conduct traffic stops in at least semi-marked vehicles with red-and-blue lights, he said.

Even unmarked police cars are equipped with red-and-blue lights and an audible siren, he said. If confronted by a questionable vehicle, Sanguedolce said motorists should call 911 to verify if the driver is a police officer.

Drivers unable to call 911 should turn on their emergency flashers and drive slowly to the nearest police station, or at least a public place, he said.

"You definitely don't want to be stopped in some desolate area on the side of the road, because we have had incidents where people who are not police officers have pulled over vehicles before," Sanguedolce said.

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2058, @cvjimhalpin