By Jeff Lipton
Police arrested three suspects and charged them with impersonating police officers after the suspects pulled over a car in Cedarhurst a crime that was repeated by other suspects last year, making motorists jittery and frustrating police officials.
The suspects, identified by police as Anthony Croom, 36, of Brooklyn; James Rhyne, 30, of New York City; and John Croom, 37, of Brooklyn, were arrested at the Sunoco station on Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst on Friday, Dec. 26, at 10:20 p.m., authorities said.
Investigators said the suspects pulled over a car, ordered the driver and a passenger out of the vehicle and searched them and the vehicle.
According to police, the suspects- vehicle was equipped with emergency lights. The suspects were wearing bulletproof vests and they displayed shields, the victims told police. The three suspects were arrested at the scene.
Their motives were not immediately clear, officials said. I have no idea why they did it, said a police spokesperson. It seems that they did some security guard work at night.
But if past cases are any indication, the motives usually range from suspects- going on a power trip to being upset with other drivers. In some cases the intent is robbery, or the suspects are just out having a good time, harassing other drivers.
Police officials said they could understand why some motorists are apprehensive when they-re pulled over by real police officers trying to do their jobs. When we-ve tried to pull someone over, it may go through their heads whether they should or shouldn-t pull over, the spokesperson said. They may think that they are being car-jacked.
For many motorists, not being able to distinguish between the good guys and bad guys is scary. The feeling that this leaves you with is, how do you know, the next time you are pulled over, if it is real [cops] or not real? said the mother of one victim who was pulled over by phony cops in Hewlett Harbor in June. It-s a traumatic experience.
In that case, suspects Kenneth G. Weinberger, 19, of Lakeview Drive in Hewlett, and William Aronin, 18, of Lafayette Place in Woodmere, were arrested last June 22 as they emerged from a bagel store on Long Beach Road in Oceanside after using fake badges, a gun, handcuffs and a flashlight to impersonate police officers and hassle motorists in Oceanside and Hewlett Harbor, police said.
Weinberger, driving a Mitsubishi Galant with Massachusetts license plates, intentionally cut off and stopped a vehicle on Harbor Road in Hewlett Harbor, police said. He exited his vehicle and approached the other car wearing a gold badge around his neck and a handgun in his waistband, as Aronin stood on the passenger-s side of the vehicle. Though they were wearing civilian clothes, Weinberger identified himself and Aronin as Nassau County police officers.
Weinberger conducted a phony license check of the operator of the other vehicle, an 18-year-old from Hewlett Harbor, who handed him his driver-s license, registration and insurance cards, police said.
The victim complied but became suspicious, and reported the incident to the Fourth Precinct, said police.
Weinberger and Aronin drove to Dot Court at the front of Oceanside Park and approached another vehicle that was parked on the street. Once again wearing a badge and displaying a gun in his waistband, Weinberger asked a 22-year-old from Oceanside for his driver-s license, registration and insurance cards. In both incidents, Weinberger went back to his car, pretending to check the status of the cards.
When police arrested the two suspects, Weinberger was in possession of a gold badge, a forged photo identification card and a pair of handcuffs hanging from his belt, officials said. A BB gun was recovered from the glove compartment of the Mitsubishi.
Police were investigating where the teens obtained their fake badges and ID cards. Police also said they were investigating the motives of the suspects. Both Weinberger and Aronin were charged with two counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, and Weinberger was also charged with two counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument.
In December, a Woodmere man was arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer after police observed him apparently stopping a car in Valley Stream, officials said.
Police saw the suspect, identified as Eli Friedman, 26, of Midwood Road, conduct an apparent car stop on North Central Avenue, near Merrick Road, shortly before 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, officials said.
According to detectives, Friedman-s car, a 2002 Nissan Extera, was equipped with a red light on its dashboard and Friedman was wearing a police scanner on his hip, while yelling at the driver of a stopped vehicle. As the officers approached, the stopped vehicle left the scene and Friedman reportedly admitted to stopping the unidentified vehicle because the driver cut him off, police said.
Friedman was charged with first-degree criminal impersonation, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, equipping a motor vehicle with a police receiver and other vehicle traffic law violations.
Police officials said motorists who are being pulled over by an emergency vehicle should always pull to the side of the road. But the driver should ask for identification and proper credentials. Detectives ask that anyone who may have been unlawfully stopped report the incident to their local police.
