Man impersonating cop tried to pull woman over, police say

CLIFTON -- A Paterson man was arrested Friday morning after he pretended to be a cop and aggressively followed a woman, police said. 

The incident occurred at around 6:15 a.m. when a woman driving to work noticed a white Ford Crown Victoria following closely behind her on Route 21 south, Lt. Robert Bracken of the Clifton Police Department said in a press release. 

As she left Route 21 and turned onto River Road she heard a police siren, Bracken said. The woman pulled over thinking she was being stopped by an officer, despite not seeing any emergency lights, Bracken said.

The man, identified as 28-year-old Juan Almonte-Peralta, approached the woman's car and asked to see her driver's license. The woman requested to see identification that Almonte-Peralta was, in fact, an officer after she did not see any police identifiers on him, Bracken said.

Almonte-Peralta returned to the car and drove to a nearby parking lot. The woman then drove away when she realized something was wrong, Bracken said. 

As she got out of her car to run into a nearby business, she noticed the Crown Victoria pulled next to her car with the siren on, Bracken said. Once inside she called 911. 

While officers were in route to the scene, they noticed the Crown Victoria on Main Avenue and Rutherford Boulevard, Bracken said. They pulled over the car and questioned Almonte-Peralta, Bracken said. They later determined that the car had just been stolen from Bergen Avenue while it was left warming up in the street, he said. 

Almonte-Peralta was arrested after police determined he was the man involved in the River Road incident, Bracken said. 

The Paterson man was charged with motor vehicle theft, burglary, impersonating a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, theft and receiving stolen property.

Bracken said police are investigating why the Crown Victoria, which was not a law enforcement vehicle, was equipped with a siren. 

In April, Almonte-Peralta was arrested after he struck a man in the face with a bottle and stole his headphones, NorthJersey.com reported.

Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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