By Zachary R. Dowdy
Newsday
A former New York City police officer was charged with impersonating one when he was stopped for speeding Friday morning, Suffolk police said.
Timothy W. Schmidt, 23, of West Islip, was charged with second-degree criminal impersonation and criminal simulation shortly after he flashed an NYPD shield when he was pulled over for going 70 mph in a 55-mph zone Friday morning, Sgt. Skip Hodge of Suffolk Police Highway Patrol said.
Highway Patrol Officer Brendan Colley stopped Schmidt, of 536 Briarwood Ave., as Schmidt drove east on the Sunrise Highway Service Road in West Babylon at 8:06 a.m., police said.
“He presented an NYPD badge,” Hodge said. “But he was unable to produce an NYPD identification card. A subsequent investigation by the officer determined that the fellow was a former NYPD officer - but he’s no longer employed by NYPD.”
Schmidt was on the force from July 2005 to June 2006. He was terminated during his probationary period for undisclosed reasons, an NYPD official said.
The official said Schmidt is not supposed to still carry a badge.
Hodge said that Schmidt was likely trying to avoid paying a ticket, but now may face jail time, up to a year behind bars, in addition to the traffic violation.
Schmidt is due to be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip at a later date. He could not be reached for comment.
The arrest comes amid reports of the techniques that authorities said a Holbrook man, Henry Terry, 24, used to fool people into thinking he was a police officer.
Terry was arraigned Wednesday on charges of third-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal impersonation after being accused of posing as a police officer and collecting phony fines.
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.