Second North Texas woman pulled over by fake officer

[Editor's note 12/3/14: We have seen an uptick in sites linking to this story in recent days. We would like to make clear this story was originally published on WFAA.com on Dec. 14, 2013.]

DENTON – For the second time in less than a month, a North Texas woman said she was attacked by a man pretending to be a police officer.

The most recent attack was reported early Friday morning in Denton.

The method, using a blue light bar to convince the victim to pull over, is the same in both attacks. The motive also appears to be the same. Both victims reported a sexual assault or attempted assault.

Even so, Denton Police Department Public Information Officer Ryan Grelle said investigators can't yet connect it to another attack that occurred last month in Carrollton.

'We just don't know, because it was so dimly lit,' Grelle said. 'And she didn't see his face, so we can't put two and two together right now.'

The woman told police she was driving along a poorly-lit stretch of Airport Road around 2:30 a.m. Friday when she saw emergency lights in her rear view mirror. The area is near an industrial park.

The woman said she pulled over, rolled down her window, and saw a man get out of a car and approach her vehicle. As she fumbled for her driver's license and insurance, the man lunged at her thorough the window.

On Nov. 27, Carrollton police released a composite sketch of a suspect who sexually assaulted a handcuffed woman in the back of his car while posing as a police officer.

Both attacks began the same way, with the victim pulling over after seeing blue lights, but each ended differently.

The Carrollton woman was lured out of her car before the man assaulted her. She was able to give police a description of him.

The suspect in the Carrollton attack is described as a white man in his 30s or 40s, between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8 with a medium build and gray or white short hair and a dark-colored beard. He was also wearing a uniform with a badge.

The Denton victim fought the man off and he took off from the scene in his car. The victim said she never saw his face, and couldn't make out any specific details about his appearance.

'She wasn't able to determine if it was a black male, a white male, or a Hispanic male,' Grelle said. 'All she was able to describe was that he was wearing a dark, blackish-type outfit.'

Grelle said the victim was able to tell police the suspect was driving a sedan-style vehicle.

Grelle had these tips for women driving alone at night:

If you are unsure or suspect a police impostor, call 911 to verify it is a legitimate traffic stop.

If you have information about this incident or were in the area at the time it occurred, please contact Sgt. Bobby Smith at 940.349.7971 or by texting the information to Tip411.

E-mail cwade@wfaa.com