# Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch The Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch is a viral image from February 2018 showing a crudely drawn witness sketch that, against all odds, actually helped police identify a robbery suspect in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The cartoonish doodle spread across Twitter after CBS News shared it alongside the suspect's real photo, sparking widespread jokes about how anyone could possibly make an identification from such a rough drawing. ## Origin On February 6, 2018, a man robbed Lancaster's Central Market by posing as an employee and making off with an undisclosed amount of cash[1]. A witness to the robbery provided police with a hand-drawn sketch of the suspect. The next day, February 7, the Lancaster City Police Department posted on Facebook announcing that the sketch had helped identify the suspect as 44-year-old Hung Phuoc Nguyen[2]. The police acknowledged the sketch's quality head-on, writing: "While the sketch provided by the witness may have appeared amateurish and cartoonish, it, along with the distinctive physical descriptors, jogged the memory of at least one investigator to provide a potential suspect name"[1]. - **Platform:** Facebook (Lancaster Bureau of Police post), Twitter (viral spread via CBS News) - **Creator:** Unknown witness (sketch artist), Lancaster City Police Department (original post) - **Date:** 2018 ## Overview The meme centers on a witness-drawn sketch used in a real police investigation that looks more like a child's doodle than a forensic portrait. The drawing is extremely simple, with basic lines forming a rough face shape, minimal detail, and none of the refined technique associated with professional composite sketches[1]. What makes it funny is the side-by-side comparison with the actual suspect's photo, which police confirmed was identified partly thanks to this very sketch. The absurd contrast between the crude drawing and its real-world effectiveness became the core joke[2]. ## How It Spread On February 8, 2018, CBS News tweeted the image of the amateur sketch placed next to Nguyen's actual photo[2]. The tweet picked up serious momentum, pulling in more than 13,000 retweets and 30,000 likes[2]. The side-by-side format was inherently comedic and required zero additional context to land. Twitter users immediately ran with it. User @SonOfADooG posted a bit imagining the moment of identification: "officer looks at doodle. officer looks at suspect. officer looks at doodle. officer looks at suspect, squinting. officer looks at doodle. 'yup this is him.'" That tweet earned over 1,700 retweets and 9,500 likes within four days[2]. User @SeeDaneRun took a different approach, posting the cover of Jason Mraz's album *We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things* with the caption "Somewhere, @jason_mraz: 'Whew.'" That one pulled roughly 250 retweets and 3,100 likes in the same window[2]. By February 9, Twitter compiled a Moments page dedicated to reactions[2]. On February 13, Redditor CallMeBicBoi posted a "You Vs. The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About" variation using the sketch on r/MemeEconomy[2]. Several major outlets covered the viral reaction, including the Washington Post, TIME, and NBC[2]. Despite all the internet attention, Nguyen had not been apprehended as of the initial reporting[1]. ## How to Use The Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch typically gets used in two ways: 1. **Side-by-side comparison jokes** — Place the sketch next to a photo (the original suspect, a celebrity, a cartoon character) to highlight the absurd gap between the drawing and reality. 2. **Template for "nailed it" humor** — Reference the sketch when someone's attempt at something is hilariously off the mark but technically gets the job done. It works as a reaction image for situations where a terrible effort somehow produces a correct result. ## Cultural Impact The sketch got coverage from major news organizations including the Washington Post, TIME, and NBC, all of which reported on the Twitter reaction as much as the crime itself[2]. The story hit a sweet spot: it was a lighthearted crime story (no one was hurt, the sketch was genuinely funny) with a twist that the terrible drawing actually worked. Mashable covered it with the headline framing it as the most amateur doodle that somehow caught a thief[1]. The story also reinforced a recurring internet fascination with police composite sketches, joining a lineage of viral moments where witness drawings look nothing like their subjects. ## Fun Facts - The Lancaster Bureau of Police preemptively addressed the sketch's quality in their own Facebook post, calling it "amateurish and cartoonish" before the internet even had a chance to roast it[1]. - The witness sketch wasn't the only piece of evidence. Police noted that "distinctive physical descriptors" provided alongside the drawing helped narrow down the suspect[2]. - The suspect, Hung Phuoc Nguyen, committed the robbery by pretending to be a Central Market employee[1]. - Anyone with information was directed to call Lancaster Police at (717) 735-3300 or Lancaster Crime Stoppers at (800) 322-1913[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch? It's a crudely drawn witness sketch from a 2018 robbery case in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that went viral because of how cartoonish it looked next to the actual suspect's photo[1]. ### Where did the Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch come from? The Lancaster City Police Department posted the sketch on Facebook on February 7, 2018, and it went viral after CBS News tweeted it the following day[2]. ### What does the Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch mean? The meme plays on the absurdity of a terrible drawing actually being useful. It's used to joke about bad attempts that somehow succeed[1]. ### How do you use the Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch? Place the sketch next to any photo for a "nailed it" comparison, or use it as a reaction image when something poorly executed still gets the job done[2]. ### Is the Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch still popular? The meme had its peak in February 2018 and isn't widely circulated today, though it occasionally resurfaces in threads about funny police sketches[2]. ### Did the sketch actually help catch the suspect? Police confirmed the sketch, combined with physical descriptors from the witness, jogged an investigator's memory enough to identify Hung Phuoc Nguyen as the suspect[1]. ### Was the suspect ever caught? As of the initial news coverage, Nguyen had not been found despite being identified[1]. ### Who drew the sketch? An unnamed witness to the robbery at Central Market drew it and provided it to police[2]. ### What crime was the sketch connected to? A robbery at Lancaster's Central Market, where the suspect posed as an employee and stole cash on February 6, 2018[1]. ### Why did the sketch go so viral? The CBS News tweet showing the sketch next to the real suspect's photo was an instantly shareable visual joke, earning over 13,000 retweets and 30,000 likes[2]. ## References 1. [New York City bomber Ahmed Rahimi sentenced to life in prison]() 2. [Somehow a thief was caught with the most amateur doodle | Mashable]() 3. [Lancaster Amateur Police Sketch - Know Your Meme]() 4. [List of serial killers by number of victims]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/lancaster-amateur-police-sketch Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library