Fake cop caught on camera stealing woman's purse in Cobbs Creek

COBBS CREEK -- Philadelphia police are looking for a man who impersonated a police officer during a robbery in the city's Cobbs Creek section.

The incident happened at 7:25 p.m. Friday night.

Surveillance shows the 36-year-old woman walking near the intersection of South 52nd Street and Cedar Avenue when she was approached by an unknown black male.

Police say the suspect identified himself as a police officer and showed a police-type badge around his neck.

He walks the victim over towards the wall and directs her to place her bag on the ground.

The robber then grabs the bag and runs.

The victim chased after the man as he jumped into a waiting black Nissan Altima.

She managed to latch onto the vehicle as it sped off, but falls off a half block away.

"Once she realized this person't wasn't a police officer, she reacted and obviously we don't want people to go that. She could have gotten seriously injured," said Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker.

Police believe the suspect is responsible for 3 robberies last week. Two in Philadelphia and one in Darby, where police released a sketch. Police say a day before this brazen robbery, he hit a home on the 5400 block of Chestnut Street.

"He says he's police, goes into the house, asks for a specific individual who is not home and takes the money and flees," said Lt. Walker.

Detectives say the suspect knew two of the victims by name and they suspect that he knew the victims had a fair amount of money on them. He was also armed in two of the cases.

"If anyone doesn't feel safe and don't know who they're dealing with, call 911 and try to get to a well-lit area or try to get to a police station. In these cases all three victims didn't have a chance to do that because he got on them rather quickly," said Lt. Walker.

Police say there were no injuries during any of these crimes.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5'8" tall with an athletic build. He was wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt with an orange shirt underneath, tan camouflage cargo pants and a dark colored baseball cap with a New York Yankees logo on the front.

You can submit a tip via telephone, 215.686.TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP (773847).

Anonymous tips can also be sent through www.phillypolice.com.