Ex-inspector arrested in Jakovo with fake police gear
Police stopped a BMW in Jakovo and arrested former inspector T. D. (58), suspected of posing as an active UKP officer. Handcuffs, batons, stun guns and a UKP-marked cap were found in the car.
- Former police inspector T. D. (58) was arrested on July 12 in Jakovo, on Vozda Karadjordja street, at around 10:40.
- A search of the vehicle turned up an arsenal: two pairs of official handcuffs, two telescopic batons, two stun guns, pepper spray and a cap marked UKP.
- He was found to have driven the BMW under the influence of psychoactive substances and was placed in police custody.
- He is suspected of posing as an active criminal-police officer and intercepting drivers on the road.
Officers from the Surcin Police Station and the Traffic Police Post for State Roads stopped a BMW in Jakovo on July 12. Behind the wheel, according to the statement, was former police inspector T. D. (58), a resident of Palilula. The vehicle was pulled over on Vozda Karadjordja street at around 10:40, during a routine traffic check.
A test showed that the driver was under the influence of psychoactive substances. On its own that would amount to a traffic offense, but the search of the car raised a far more serious suspicion. Police found equipment in the vehicle that an ordinary driver, as a rule, does not carry.
What was found in the vehicle
Inside the BMW, according to police, officers found two pairs of official handcuffs, a sign reading „Stop police”, two telescopic batons, a metal knife, pepper spray, two stun guns, a radar detector and a black cap bearing the insignia of the Criminal Police Directorate. It is a kit that visually resembles the standard gear of an officer working in the field.
That last detail, the UKP-marked cap, is at the center of the investigation. The suspect no longer serves in the police, so he had no right to a uniform, insignia, or any prop that would link him to the active service. Possessing such gear, along with weapons and means of coercion, raises the question of what it was really meant to be used for.
Given the established circumstances, the suspect was placed in police custody. He is charged with serious offenses under the Road Traffic Safety Act and the Weapons and Munitions Act. Guilt, it must be stressed, has not been established with a final verdict, and the competent prosecutor’s office will decide on the further course of the case.
How could a former inspector pose as a UKP officer?
The suspicion police put forward is that the man used the gathered equipment to pose as an active criminal-police officer and to intercept drivers on the road. In that scenario the „Stop police” sign, the batons and the handcuffs are not souvenirs but tools that can stop a citizen and make them believe they are facing an authorized official.
Impersonating a police officer is not a harmless offense. A person who falsely identifies as police can stop a vehicle, demand an ID, even money, while the victim usually has no way to check on the spot whether the person before them is a real officer or a fake. That is why such cases are treated with particular care.
The suspect’s name is not unknown to the public. He was previously part of an investigation tied to the murder of singer Jelena Marjanovic, where an indictment charged him with abuse of office and unlawful gain of over 3.3 million dinars. That proceeding is separate and has no direct link to the current arrest, but it further explains why the case draws attention.
For now it remains an open question how many drivers, if any, were actually stopped before the BMW was intercepted in Jakovo. If you have ever wondered how to tell a real police officer from a fake one on the road, what proof would you ask for before stepping out of your car?
