Sioux Falls woman has strange run in with man impersonating a cop
May 19, 2021
Mike Tanner
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–A scary encounter for a woman in Sioux Falls Tuesday night when she was confronted by an armed man impersonating a cop.
It happened around 11:30 in the 200-block of North Dogwood Place. That’s where a woman returning home was approached by a man wearing a baseball cap and tactical vest that had the word “Police” written on them.
He began asking the woman about suspicious drug activity that had been going on in the area, and said he was a detective, therefore he wasn’t wearing a badge.
The woman was suspicious and said she was going to call police, at which time the suspect ran away.
About 15 minutes later, officers recognized a description of the man when they stopped a vehicle that was swerving near 12th Street and Ebenezer Avenue.
In that vehicle police found the ball cap and vest the suspect had been wearing, as well as a loaded handgun.
The man was arrested for Fourth Degree DWI, Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia, Impersonating a Police Officer and Possession of a Loaded Firearm While Intoxicated.
He’s identified as 35 year-old Eric Scott Sprecher of Sioux Falls.
Police spokesman Sam Clemens says the woman did the right thing by asking the man to produce a badge, and then calling police to report the incident.
