DENVER -- Denver police on Thursday released the sketch of a man who has been impersonating a police officer and attempting to pull over drivers.

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How to protect yourself from a police impersonator

The suspect has been described as a white man in his 50s with short salt and pepper hair, a full bushy mustache and a potbelly. He was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 200 pounds, an eyewitness said.

Investigators believe the suspect is involved in a May 27 incident, in which a man driving a white four-door car with flashing red, white and blue lights, pulled over a female driver in the middle of the afternoon.

The woman was near 6th Avenue at Santa Fe when the suspect drove behind her and turned on his flashing lights, which were installed on his rear dash board. She pulled her car over to the side of the road thinking that the man was in an unmarked police car.

When he walked up to her car, he was wearing a dark blue uniform with a gold name tag but no badge, she said.

The woman said the suspect asked her for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance and then made her leave her vehicle. He told her was taking her to the police station, but he stopped in the area of West 11th Avenue and Speer Boulevard and gave her a sobriety test on the side of the road.

He then drove her back to where she had parked her car. The woman was not injured, but police fear this impersonator could be dangerous because he was brazen enough to pull over a woman during daylight hours and then drive away with the victim.

If you have any information about the suspect, you are asked to contact Detective Greg Vacca at (720) 913-6070.

If you get stopped by an unmarked police car, pull over in a well-lit area where a lot of people are present and stop your car. Do not roll down your window or open your car doors. Ask to see his/her identification and through the closed window and speak up so the officer can hear you. If you're still not convinced the person who pulls you over is an officer and you have a cell phone, call 911 to check with the dispatcher or to have a marked unit respond, authorities suggested.

This year, the state passed a new law imposing tougher penalties for police impersonators. The law increased the penalty for impersonating a peace officer from a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000, to a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a maximum fine of $5,000.

The law was brought to the forefront because of the murder and abduction of University of Northern Colorado student Lacy Miller in early January. Police said Jason Peder Clausen, 22, posed as a police officer to pull the 20-year-old student over near her house.

Additional Resource:

What To Do If You Get Stopped By Unmarked Police Car