Man Poses as Police Officer

Monday 12th of February 2007 05:52:55 PM

Equipped with handcuffs, police uniforms, badge, and driving a realistic looking police vehicle, Henry Terry, impersonated a police officer for an undisclosed amount of time in Hempstead, New York, USA, by stopping drivers for traffic violations and attempting to extort money from some. Terry, 24, also rented office space and pretended it was a police station.

Terry, who has prior convictions for reckless endangerment and parole violation, was released from prison in 2004. When police walked through Terry’s office, they found papers, computer disks, and a name plate that said “Cpl. H. Terry, Unit Supervisor”. He had interrogated at least one person inside the office before being caught.

Terry was able to convince people he was a police officer by purchasing items such as uniforms, badges, handcuffs, lights, and other items. Terry was finally caught when he convinced his victim to give him their vehicle and a large sum of money. Terry said he was working undercover and needed the vehicle in order to follow a suspect. After his arrest, he pleaded not guilty and claimed he did nothing wrong. He has been charged with grand larceny because of the vehicle he had stolen.

District Attorney Thomas Spota said of Terry, “We have reason to believe the defendant has been posing as a police officer for some time.” Since Terry was able to purchase police equipment online, he was able to convince many people that he was a real police officer. Even though Terry claims he never harmed anyone, he did try to blackmail of few people that he pulled over.

The office where Henry Terry has his ‘police station’ is now empty. On the directory box outside the building, “New York Enforcement Asset Recovery Bureau's District 2 Operations” is listed next to the office number that belonged to Terry.

(c)Emiliano Spada, www.sxc.hu