Man who approached girl at store really was a cop

A 6-year-old girl who became separated from her parents at a Wauwatosa store last week was approached by a man who claimed to be a cop. He showed the child a badge and said he would help her find her parents, according to Wauwatosa police.

But when her mom spotted the man and her daughter and called out for the girl, the man mumbled something about finding the girl and hurriedly walked off.

The June 22 exchange at the Target, 3900 N. 124th St., led the girl's family and Wauwatosa police to suspect the man had been posing as a police officer to lure the child.

Parents were surprised to learn the suspect is not only an officer with the Milwaukee Police Department, but is a member of the Sensitive Crimes Unit. He saw an alert about the incident sent out to area agencies and called the Wauwatosa department to let them know what happened.

When questioned about his strange behavior at the store, he said he had been frustrated that parents would let their child wander around the store unattended, so he left.