3 Taken Into Custody After Police in Illinois Warn of Man Impersonating Cop

Surveillance footage captured by a West Chicago house’s doorbell camera showed a man wearing a suit and a badge ring the bell of the home late Tuesday, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said.

Three people in Illinois have been taken into custody after police sent out a warning that a man pretending to be a cop was approaching residents about a supposed investigation. 

Surveillance footage captured by a West Chicago house’s doorbell camera showed a man wearing a suit and a badge ring the bell of the home late Tuesday, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said.

When a resident opened the door, the man introduced himself as a cop investigating a missing persons case. 

“Hi, sorry to bother you so late, I’m Jeff Rushmore with the Winfield Police Department, I’m an investigator,” the man said. 

With what sounded like chatter coming from a police scanner in the background, the man then went on to ask “police-related questions” before leaving in a dark-colored sedan.

But police said the man’s story, like his badge, was a fake

The man made no threats and did not try to enter any home, and surveillance footage showed he appeared to stay in character even when no one answered the door. 

Three unidentified suspects have since been arrested in the case

“Investigators learned that multiple suspects were involved in this crime,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “The Sheriff’s Office has been working jointly with the Wheaton Police Department and three suspects were identified by investigators and are now in custody at the Wheaton Police Department.”

Their identities will be released if charges are approved and filed.

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