Possible Police Impersonator Approaches Child In Monument

The Monument Police Department is looking for a man believed to be impersonating a police officer.

“Our officers are on heightened alert,” said police Lt. Steve Burke. “We’re paying a little extra attention. This is very unusual for Monument.”

On Sunday between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., a juvenile was sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot of the King Soopers, located at 1070 W. Baptist Road in Monument. The juvenile reported that a black and white car with the word “Police” written on the side stopped next him and a man in a police uniform exited the car.

Burke said no Monument officers were in that area at the time.

The juvenile said the man spoke with the him for several minutes, asked some questions and then left. Police wouldn’t reveal what questions were asked, but said the juvenile was not physically contacted by the suspect, was not asked to do anything, and was not harmed in any way.

“It could have been another law enforcement agency passing through,” said Burke. “That’s not unusual. It may be just mistaken identity, a case of one person not understanding what the other was doing. The juvenile wasn’t asked to do anything that one would take as a threat. But that doesn’t change the way we look at this.”

The suspect is described as a white male in a uniform, 5’10” to 6′ tall, 185 to 200 pounds, with brown hair and approximately 30 to 40 years old.

Burke asks that anyone who may have been in the King Soopers parking lot or in the general area on Sunday, and who may have seen anything related to this incident, to please contact police at (719) 481-3253.

This is the second suspicious incident in the past week involving a child in Monument. In a stranger danger incident last Thursday, a boy told police that a naked man tried to lure him into his truck in the area of Mt. Herman road and Mitchell Avenue.

Police have a license plate number but no further leads in that case. However, police said they believe the two cases are not connected. Burke said both cases are suspicious enough to be taken seriously by police and the public.