For the Hub City Times

NEILLSVILLE – On Nov. 23, the Clark County Sheriff Office received a complaint involving the impersonation of a law enforcement officer.

“Earlier that evening, at about 5:35 PM, an individual was travelling west on Willow Road in the township of Hoard when they were pulled over by a vehicle displaying red and blue emergency lighting. Two individuals got out of separate vehicles behind them and approached their vehicle,” a department release said.

“One of the males identified himself as a ‘Dunn County Warden Service.’ He was described as being a white male who was approximately 5’9” tall, short hair, unknown hair color, late 20s to early 30s. The impersonator warden was wearing a long sleeve olive green shirt and black tactical pants, a pistol holstered on his left hip, and a portable radio located in the small of his back. The two-way radio was described to have a lapel mic attached to the radio possibly a Kenwood brand. The lapel mic was attached to the impersonator warden’s ballistics vest with the cord placed behind the back and over shoulder. The ballistics vest was described to be worn on the outside with a carrier designed to wear underneath of a uniform shirt and the complainant did not see any law enforcement patches or other insignia on the wardens clothing.”

The suspect’s vehicle was described as a silver 2010-12 Chevrolet pickup, with interior red and blue emergency lights and no brush guard.

“The complainant stated he believed the second male was a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy. The impersonating deputy had longer dark hair in the back of his head and hair in the front of his head that touched his eyebrows. He was wearing a brown jacket and the word ‘SHERIFF,’ displayed with yellow letters on the back of the jacket. The impersonator deputy was wearing black pants and had a handgun holstered on the right side on his hip, a magazine holder worn on the front right side of his waist. The impersonator deputy’s radio looked similar to the impersonator warden’s radio. The radio had a lapel mic attached to the radio and attached to an area around the impersonator deputy’s collar,” the release added.

The impersonator deputy’s squad car was described as a model similar to a 2012 Ford Explorer, with interior red and blue emergency lights and no front grill emergency lighting.

“The warden impersonator asked for his/her driver license and vehicle registration. The warden impersonator told the complainant that he could not check his information in Clark County because he was a warden from Dunn County. According to the complainant, the Clark County deputy was required to check his license and registration. The complainant stated the law enforcement impersonators were away checking his/her information for an approximate five minutes,” the release stated.

“The complainant stated he/she escorted the two law enforcement impersonators to his/her hunting land located on Center Road. After a short conversation outside the complainant’s vehicle, he/she was allowed the leave and reported the incident.”

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident and is asking the public’s assistance. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office believes other hunters/persons may have been contacted by these two law enforcement impersonators during the course of the gun deer season.

If you have information, contact the Clark County Sheriff’s Office at 715-743-3157.