IWA For Sunday, February 11, 2007

Hey folks,

It’s SUNDAY! Time for the IWA. You know when you are a kid, and you want to be something? You used the power of your imagination and pretend to be a Cowboy, Indian, Firefighter, Cop, Robber, Robin Hood, Darth Vader, who or whatever you wanted.

My friend Billy and I would be out playing from sun up to sun set. We would be playing all day every day, until the voice of my Grandmother jarred us back into reality, just in time for dinner. In that course of the day, I could have been anyone or anything. I was a star, Sports Star, {Whatever was in season} Rock star, Wrestler, Boxer, Cop, Robber, and so was my friend. We did it all.

But then something happened. We grew up. Then instead of playing all day, and using our imagination, we had to deal with reality. I wish my friend well, wherever it may be that he is now.

I do not always like dealing in reality. I do not really like having to go to work everyday. I’m fortunate to like what I do, but I do not always want to do it. But I know that I am what and who I am.

But this all brings me to this guy.

Henry Terry had all the right accessories to impersonate a police officer, prosecutors say: authentic-looking uniforms, a car with lights and sirens, a pair of handcuffs. But Terry took it a step further, setting up a personal police station where he kept records of possible crimes and sometimes interrogated "suspects" who were handcuffed to a chair, said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.


Following the 24-year-old's arraignment earlier this week on charges of grand larceny and impersonating a police officer, the dingy fourth-floor office where he ran his operation was empty Friday except for some computer discs, a few papers on the floor, a pair of black dress shoes and a nameplate on a shelf: "Cpl. H. Terry, Unit Supervisor."

On the building directory downstairs, the space is listed as the "New York Enforcement Asset Recovery Bureau's District 2 Operations."

Yup. This guy pretended to be a cop. Even set up a Police Station. How many people did he trick into thinking they we truly "under arrest?" Can you image this? You are doing whatever it is you are doing and a cop arrests you, handcuffs you and brings you to the "Police Station." Then you find out that he is a fake. Did he "search" these people? We know he stole from them.

"We have reason to believe the defendant has been posing as a police officer for some time," Spota said in a statement.

To convince civilians he was a police officer, Terry bought badges, uniforms, handcuffs and other law enforcement paraphernalia from catalogs and the Internet, Spota said. He would stop motorists, ostensibly for traffic violations, and before his interrogations he would photocopy each "suspect's" ID, just as real police do.

Terry pleaded not guilty and his attorney, George Dazzo, said Terry didn't attempt to "harm or threaten" anyone. But prosecutors said he asked some victims for cash in exchange for their release. They were never taken to a real police station.

The grand larceny charge stems from an incident in which Terry is accused of convincing the owner of a sport utility vehicle to give him the SUV to use in a supposed undercover investigation. Terry is accused of swapping the driver's vehicle for another one and $600 cash, the district attorney said.

In 2002 Terry was arrested for reckless endangerment and sentenced to five years of probation. He violated those terms in May 2004 when he was arrested on a charge of criminal impersonation in Nassau County. He was sent to prison, but was freed on parole again in December 2004.

Terry's next court date is March 12.

I hope he gets the full sentence. I hope they continue to investigate this. There is more to it then this. Call it my "gut feeling." He already was arrested for impersonation before, now he was at it again. He is a threat to the public, and needs to be removed from it.

Time to grow up Henry. You are not a cop. But hey, You ARE the Idiot of the week. I guess that’s something.
Peter

Source
AP-Alleged fake cop had 'police station'