Man arrested for impersonating Atlanta PD officer, working as security in downtown Atlanta

ATLANTA – A man was recently arrested for impersonating at Atlanta Police Department office in downtown Atlanta.

According to APD, an on-duty officer was patrolling parking lots on Aug. 13 when he spotted a person who appeared to be an off-duty APD officer working security in a parking lot.

The on-duty officer stopped to talk to the man and began to feel something was off. The on-duty officer noticed that the man’s uniform was slightly off, his body camera equipment was different and he appeared to be nervous.

Initially, the on-duty officer thought it could be simply an issue of policy violations but decided to notify his supervisors.

Two APD supervisors responded to the parking lot and met the “off-duty officer.” Initially, they thought the man may have been working an unauthorized off-duty job. But, the man’s story was not adding up and neither veteran supervisor had seen him before. One of the supervisors checked certification records and could not find the man’s name. At that point, they arrested him.

The man advised he had applied to work for the APD a few years ago, but had failed his physical exam. The equipment he was carrying was similar to APD equipment, but was not the same. The firearm was a different model and caliber. It was also empty. The body camera was not currently or previously issued to APD officers. The male was charged with impersonating a police officer and taken to the Fulton County Jail.

APD is still investigating the case and trying to determine if he has impersonated an officer before. Information can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeAtl.org . Persons do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for the reward of up to $2,000 for the arrest and indictment of the suspect.