14-Year-Old Fake Cop Pleads Not Guilty

Authored by nbcchicago.com and submitted by Tokyono
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A 14-year-old boy accused of impersonating a police officer and going on patrol for five hours has pleaded not guilty.

The teenager appeared in a Chicago juvenile courtroom on Monday in a purple sweater with his hands cuffed behind his back. A judge ordered that he be held at the juvenile center because he could pose a danger to himself.

Rev. Roosevelt Watkins, a South Side Minister, said the arrest was shocking but not a surprise. Watkins and his wife took in the 14-year-old for 11 months after the boy’s mother kicked him out of the house for being defiant.

"He's crying out for someone to help him because he's technically homeless," Watkins.

Rev. Watkins said the teen was arrested in December, 2007 for impersonating a police officer and again last month at the Ford City shopping mall while wearing a police uniform.

On Sunday, Chicago Police said the boy came dressed up in a regulation uniform and worked five hours of a shift at the Grand Crossing District police station. It's unclear where he got the uniform.

"He has a fantasy, he's infatuated with becoming a police officer," Rev. Watkins said.

The boy reportedly was able to get a police radio, ticket book and ride with an officer for several hours before being questioned by a sergeant who realized his true identity. Because the boy had been in a "police explorer" program where he shadowed officers, he was able to follow procedures with out being noticed.

The boy now faces felony charges of impersonating a police officer.

sean488 on January 5th, 2020 at 00:08 UTC »

I was an Explorer as well. It was common for me to just show up fully dressed when I wanted to ride. Most of the officers and detectives knew me. But this was at my sponsored sheriff's office. One day we had a meeting at the police department. As I was checking in a police officer asked if I was the new cadet. I chuckled (because it was a common joke) and said Yes. He handed me gear and said, "well, let's go".

rankt on January 4th, 2020 at 23:50 UTC »

Kid was thinking ahead. Even entry level jobs these days won't hire you unless you have 10 years experience

DocDerz on January 4th, 2020 at 23:14 UTC »

That boy/man has since been arrested two additional times for impersonating a police officer. There's a lot more detail about the initial incident in this Chicago Tribune write up:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-cop-impostor-update-20150504-story.html

A few of the more fascinating bits:

The Tribune reached out to a half-dozen police officers directly involved in the Jan. 24, 2009, incident, but found none willing to talk.

"It's one of the most amazing things I've seen since I've left (the Police Department), or even when I was with the department, I didn't see anything along that magnitude," said Pat Camden, a Chicago cop for 38 years who was department spokesman. Camden was retired when Richardson pulled off his teenage cop impersonation and now represents the police union.

Brock recalled the initial police reaction to what was clearly an embarrassment for the department.

Publicly, then-police Superintendent Jody Weis seemed to accept the teen's claims that his motives were good. "We were fortunate this young man had no evil in his heart," Weis said at the time.

But then-Mayor Richard M. Daley furiously called out police. "Where is the desk sergeant? The field lieutenant? The captain on duty?" he said, promising swift action.

In all, 14 officers, including the captain running the watch during Richardson's shift and seven sergeants, were brought up on departmental charges, according to an Internal Affairs report on the incident obtained by the Tribune under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Though diminutive, he had a wrestler's physique and a good crop of facial hair.

He was dressed in a uniform that included a regulation sweater with a Chicago police patch, cargo pants and a duty belt, along with a nameplate, according to the report. But he had no police star and no handgun.

The report said Richardson first duped the radio room officer, who assigned him to a beat and let him sign out a radio. She then told another officer that Richardson was a cop from another district, and that officer showed Richardson the locker room, where he was assigned a locker.

Richardson's partner that day was faulted in the report for her failure to raise questions over Richardson showing up without equipment or a star. No one, including this partner, appeared to notice that his holster was empty, the report said.

The captain in charge told investigators that when the partner assigned to Richardson was informed that he was an impostor, she "appeared to be in a state of shock." Earlier, she had asked the 14-year-old to drive the squad car while she used her cellphone, according to the report.

Around 7:30 p.m. that January day, Richardson's ruse was discovered. He was back at the station, and a sergeant noticed that he did not have a police star. The teen was brought to the captain. Richardson did not have a police ID — just a YMCA ID card. He was arrested.

The captain was faulted in the report for not conducting a roll call, which is why he didn't encounter Richardson earlier.

Five officers, including the partner and the captain, received suspension without pay for two to five days. Two others received only written reprimands. The department dropped the case against the other seven officers.

The captain is now retired, while the officer who partnered with Richardson is still on the force, according to city records. Neither could be reached for comment.