Officials look for man posing as police officer

Police are looking for a man who allegedly pretended to be a police officer and hit another man Monday in front of the Monroe County Public Library downtown.

The 23-year-old male was standing in front of the library at about 7:45 p.m., talking to several friends.

He began arguing with one of them because he believed that one of his friends had stolen his MP3 player, said Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake, reading from a police report.

The victim told police another man standing nearby began yelling, saying he was a police officer.

The man pulled out handcuffs and told the victim he would take him to jail, Drake said.
The man then grabbed the victim by the shoulders and pushed him toward a bench, punching the victim with the hand in which he was holding the handcuffs, Drake said.

The suspect then ran west on Kirkwood Avenue. He was described as being in his 30s or 40s, having brown hair and wearing a brown baseball cap, a red T-shirt and blue jeans, Drake said.