CLAYTON (AP) -- A woman who told St. Louis County authorities she was stopped and punched by a fake police officer has admitted making the story up.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the 47-year-old woman came clean Thursday, but was unable to explain to police why she did it.

The woman had claimed that a man in a car with emergency lights on the dashboard stopped her Wednesday morning in Clayton. She described him as wearing a badge, a gun belt and a police-style shirt, and said he pulled her from her vehicle, punched her and tore her shirt. He then drove off.

Police say the woman may be charged with filing a false police report. Her name has not been released.

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