Passaic County police arrested a man accused of impersonating a police officer in order to help his girlfriend avoid a traffic ticket in Paterson, New Jersey.
According to the Passaic County Sheriff s Office, a police officer was on patrol in the area of Presidential Boulevard in Paterson NJ when he saw a female driver talking on her cellphone while operating a 2016 black Nissan Rouge. The traffic cop then stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver.
The driver allegedly told the Passaic County NJ sheriff s officer that she was using her cell phone because she needed to speak with her boyfriend, who was a cop.
The woman s boyfriend, who lived nearby, later went to the stopped vehicle and talked to the Passaic County officer. He allegedly told the patrol officer that he previously worked as a police officer in Kearny and Hillsdale. Additionally, the suspect reportedly said that his girlfriend was a New Jersey State Trooper.
When the suspect could not give any proper law enforcement identification to support his claims, the Passaic County Sheriff s Office called the New Jersey State Police, the Kearny Police Department, the Hillsdale Police Department, and the NJ State Department of Corrections. None of those agencies were able to confirm the suspect s claims of being a police officer.
Investigators soon figured out that the suspect was actually a security guard, not a police officer. A subsequent search of the suspect reportedly turned up a Glock 19 handgun.
The suspect, a 32-year-old male from Paterson NJ, has been charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer. It is possible that he will face additional criminal charges, depending on the outcome of an ongoing investigation.
The suspect avoided any illegal handgun possession charges because he reportedly has a permit to carry the firearm police found him carrying.
The suspect s girlfriend was not cited for any traffic violations; instead, she was given a warning by police.
For further information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Man Allegedly Posed as Cop to Get Girlfriend out of Ticket.”
