Just a block from the nearest police precinct, two men claiming to be Seattle police officers stole a sailor's cell phone and wallet in a Capitol Hill parking lot last week, according to a Seattle police report. The victim was a US Navy man, but the culprits—dressed in hoodies—looked absolutely nothing like real cops.

The sailor had been celebrating his 25th birthday at gay leather bar the Cuff until 1:30 a.m. on June 26, but once he got back into his car he realized he was too drunk to drive home, and decided to ask friends if he could stay with them. Before he could make the call, he was approached by two men. One—described in the report as "wearing the red and black stripe sweatshirt"—allegedly knocked on the driver's window and said, "Seattle Police-step out of the car."

The police report then takes pains to describe how little the alleged impostors resembled actual policemen: "Even though the suspects never showed [the victim] their badges, wore their hoods pulled over their heads, and had no visible side arms on their person as most Seattle Officers [do], [the victim] did not initially ask any questions and stepped from the vehicle as instructed." One suspect then reportedly asked the disconcerted sailor, "Where is the weed? Where is the meth? Where is the crack?" The hooded men then took and pocketed the sailor's wallet and cell phone, the report says.

Finally—the sailor got suspicious.

"Believing the suspects were possibly not real police officers, [the victim] asked them if they could complete their investigation with him at the SPD East Precinct." Instead, the men fled the scene with the sailor's belongings. Police searched the area but couldn't find the culprits.

This is the second time in as many weeks I've written about men impersonating officials and then robbing the shit out of trusting victims.

Detective Mark Jamieson of the SPD Public Affairs Unit told me that in a situation like this, "You can always ask for identification," or cut to the chase and simply call 911. But, most importantly, "If it looks like a bad situation, it probably is."