Published: April 01, 2009 11:39 pm      

Assault story fabricated, police say

A Vinco-area woman was charged Wednesday with lying to police about being pulled over on Route 219 in Richland Township last week by a man impersonating as a police officer.

Hope Michelle Eck, 27, of the 3000 block of William Penn Avenue, was charged by Richland police with making a false report to police and unsworn falsification to police.

The case is proceeding by summons.

Eck falsely told police that around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, she was pulled over by a car with flashing red and blue lights while driving southbound on Route 219 at the Eisenhower Boulevard overpass. She told police the man driving the car asked her for her license, registration card and insurance papers. As she reached into the glove box to get the latter two, the man struck her in the back, she told police.

Officer Jeff Peters said he spoke with the state police, who are investigating two incidents of a man impersonating a police officer, one in Somerset County, the other in Bedford County. Peters also talked to the defendant several times about the incident.

Her account of what had happened was not adding up, he said.

Peters said he and Detective Kevin Lehman believed she was telling a story to cover up something.

Peters said he and Lehman asked Eck to take a polygraph test Wednesday morning. When she arrived, she said she didn’t want the situation to go any further and confessed to making up the story, Peters said.

Peters said the defendant has a medical issue – a sore back – and figured if she told a story that she was injured in an incident such as that, she could get medical attention at a hospital without questions being asked.

The defendant said she did not know that police had been investigating two incidents of impersonation in the area prior to her report, Peters said.