Dexter police search for man allegedly posing as officer

Dexter police are searching for a man allegedly posing as one of their own and who is accused of assaulting a man Thursday morning.

Police were dispatched to 224 Carter St. by a caller who said he had been assaulted by a man he initially believed to be a police officer.

Nicholas Griffin, 31, called police at 12:51 a.m. Griffin told police he was walking home from a downtown bar at 12:30 a.m., and that as he walked south on Elm Street near Carter Street, a white Ford Crown Victoria pulled alongside him and the driver activated the light bar atop the vehicle. Griffin said he had been drinking before walked home.

According to a report by responding officer J.T. Benton, Griffin said the vehicle's patrol lights were blue and white, as opposed to Dexter's squad cars, which have red and blue lights.

Griffin told Benton that the man he believed to be a police officer at the time called out, "Hey, you. Stop."

Griffin said he stopped walking and the man got out of the vehicle, approached him and began punching him in the head and then threw him on the ground.

Griffin told police the assault lasted from two to three minutes before the man returned to his vehicle and drove west on Carter Street.

Police searched for the vehicle described by Griffin to be carrying some kind of decals similar to what appears on Dexter's patrol units. He was unclear, however, just what lettering appeared on the car.

The only injuries apparent on Griffin, according to police, were described as "slight scratches" on the left side of his forehead.

Dexter police checked with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and neighboring law enforcement agencies to verify if any patrol vehicles might have been in the area at the time of the alleged assault, and found none.

Despite local officers canvassing the area in search of the suspect vehicle, none was found.

The investigation is ongoing.

Pertinent address:

Elm Street and Carter Street, Dexter, Mo.