Almost kidnapped by a cop while deploying to iraq

Throwaway because I don’t think I’m comfortable talking about this without remaining anonymous. I did post this story on a few other places on chambers, but just recently found this sub after a few people recommended it. I’ll do my best to keep it short and concise. If you find yourself in a similar situation, don’t make the same mistakes I did. <br><br>This happened back in 2011, when I was 19 years old. I had just enlisted in the Navy and was getting ready for boot camp. After a few months of delays, I finally get my orders to go. My dad drives me to the airport and I fly to Chicago for processing. After the processing was done, me and about 30 other new recruits were told to go to the airport and take a connecting flight to San Diego. I had never been to Chicago before, and this airport was huge. I had no idea where I was going and struggled to find my way around. <br><br>As we were all waiting for our connecting flight, some guy wearing a badge walks up to me while I was sitting. He was wearing a black leather jacket with no visible uniform on underneath, and jeans. <br><br>Cop - “Excuse me kid, you look a little scared. Everything okay?”<br><br>Me - “Yeah I’m just not used to airports like this. I’m trying to figure out where I need to go.”<br><br>Cop - “Where you headed?”<br><br>Me - “San Diego.”<br><br>Cop - “You’re in the wrong spot kid. This flight isn’t going there. Let me walk you outside and point you in the right direction.”<br><br>Me - “Thanks.”<br><br>Now this was my big mistake, I didn’t verify that he was actually a cop. He was wearing a badge, but it looked more like a private security guard than a police badge. In hindsight I should have taken a better look or called the non-emergency line for the airport to verify. Nevertheless, I grab my stuff and walk towards the exit with him. <br><br>As we walk towards the exit he starts small talking with me about where I’m from and stuff like that. At this point I was still under the impression he was a cop and was just doing his job. <br><br>Cop - “So kid, where you from?”<br><br>Me - “North Florida”<br><br>Cop - “Oh really? I have family there. I like visiting them, it’s nice down there. What city are you from?”<br><br>Me - “Jacksonville”<br><br>Cop - “Oh yeah, I know that city. You ever go to the beach in jax?”<br><br>Me - “Yeah, I like going there.”<br><br>Cop - “Cool, so did your parents buy your ticket for you?”<br><br>Me - “No, the Navy did. I’m on my way to San Diego.”<br><br>Cop - “Oh, I can’t see your boarding pass. Can you show it to me?”<br><br>Me - “I don’t see why, but okay.”<br><br>(I show him my boarding pass)<br><br>Cop - “Alright kid, this flight isn’t going where you think it is. Are you sure your parents didn’t buy your ticket?”<br><br>Me - “Positive, I’m sure the Navy did.”<br><br>Cop - “Alright kid, we need to go outside and have a talk. You’re not acting right.”<br><br>(I didn’t like his tone and started to feel that something was wrong. So I played dumb)<br><br>Me - “What? I thought you were going to point me in the right direction.”<br><br>Cop - “F*** that, you and I need to go outside and have a talk. I think your parents bought your ticket. You’re not acting right.”<br><br>(I was really confused at this point, and thought he was power tripping for no reason)<br><br>Me - “Fine, whatever.”<br><br>As soon as we walked outside I got a weird feeling. There was no one around. He began to walk further away from the airport, towards the parking garage. <br><br>Me - “Hey, this isn’t the right way.”<br><br>Cop - “Shut the f*** up kid.”<br><br>(I start to notice he doesn’t have a police car nearby, or any other cops in the area. It’s also dark outside because it was around 10pm and the airport didn’t have any street lights nearby. So I knew I had to do something)<br><br>Me - “You know what? I think I’ll just go back inside and find a real cop.”<br><br>Cop - “You’re not going anywhere.”<br><br>(I turn around and start walking back towards the airport, he grabs my arm)<br><br>Me - “Let me go.”<br><br>Cop - “I said you’re not going anywhere kid.”<br><br>(I struggled a bit and broke free from his grip, and started to run)<br><br>Cop - “Hey! You better stop! You’re in trouble now!”<br><br>(I don’t look back and keep running towards the airport, I didn’t stop running until I reached the inside of the airport)<br><br>I found an airport security guard and told him what happened. He wore an airport security uniform, and had an airport id badge. He radioed for airport police and they said that no one had contacted dispatch about a minor looking lost. I saw many airport police walking around, but the guy who approached me didn’t say anything to them before walking me outside. <br><br>The airport police came and took my statement, then said there was nothing they could do because I didn’t get his description or vehicle information. I did tell them he was wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, and that the parking garage is where he took me. They were pretty much condescending and said that I should have stayed with them until they were done canvassing the area. <br><br>I was pissed off that they didn’t take me seriously, but was also happy that I struggled my way out of potentially being kidnapped and murdered. After a few hours I found a few other new Navy recruits and told them what happened. They were shocked and said that we should stay together as a group while waiting for boarding. <br><br>A few days later while I was in processing at the RTC, I told a few other recruits about what happened. They too were shocked and shared similar experiences with me. It was unsettling to say the least. <br><br>I hope he’s not out there doing that anymore. <br><br>Edit: wow, this post blew up. Thank you for your concern and for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate everyone’s kind words and support.<br><br>For those of you who suggested that I make a police report, I did exactly that. Unfortunately, nothing ever came of it and no one was ever held accountable. <br><br>It’s been nine years since this has happened and I still look over my shoulder from time to time. The scary part is, anyone can slap a badge on their shirt and claim to be a cop, carry a gun, and walk into an airport or some other crowded place and do the same thing that this guy did to me. <br><br>Even if someone did get held accountable for what happened, it wouldn’t change anything. What’s done is done, and it’s over with. I can’t stay mad at something that happened years ago. It’s not worth my time. <br><br>As I said earlier, if you find yourself in a similar situation, don’t make the same mistake I did. Stay calm and try to get as much information as possible. I’m just glad that this story has many of you on high alert and is helping to prevent similar situations. <br><br>Again, thank you for taking the time to read my story.<br><br>Edit 2: for those of you who are confused about the timeline of my story, please see below.<br><br>I enlisted back in August 2010. My original ship date was supposed to be for October 2010, but was pushed back to January 2011. I didn’t leave until January 25th, 2011.