Sheriff's office looking for man impersonating police officers in traffic stops

ALLOUEZ - Deputies are looking for a man pretending to be a police officer in Brown County.

The Brown County Sheriff's Office received a report of someone impersonating an officer and conducting a traffic stop to check if the driver was following the safer-at-home order.

The first incident happened in the southern part of the county and the impersonator was described as a man in his 30s with a short beard and wearing a green uniform and black cap. His name tag said Benjamin and he drove a navy or black Chevy Impala.

The sheriff's office said a second incident that was reported in Allouez turned out to be a false report, it said in a Facebook post Thursday.

Officials will not conduct safer-at-home traffic stops for that reason and people do not need permission paperwork to drive.

Deputies warned that anyone who makes a false report or impersonates officers will be punished.

"Those who impersonate officers are making our jobs more difficult. Those who are reporting false crimes are taking our attention away from those who need it. Both are punishable and will be treated as such," the sheriff's office said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 920-391-7450 or Crime Stoppers at 920-432-STOP.

Contact Benita Mathew at (920) 309-3428 or bmathew@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @benita_mathew.