How a Chicago teen fooled police into thinking he was an officer

January 30, 2009 05:10 AM

The Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — He walked into the store in an almost-complete Chicago police uniform and, like a seasoned shopper, began pointing out a variety of new items he needed. He asked for a police sweater, shirt and belt, quickly racking up a pile of clothing. When the saleswoman asked him for the required police identification, he said he’d get it from his car but didn’t return.

Three days later -- last Saturday -- the same individual came back to AJ Uniform in the 2700 block of West 111th Street and again asked for a laundry list of items. This time, the store was crowded with customers, and he told employees he was going to go to lunch before coming back to buy what he picked out.

Soon after he left, the store’s owner noticed a novelty star the shopper had been eyeing in a display case was missing. And the real Chicago police name tag that hung on a store mannequin was gone too.

“I said to the guy who was waiting on him, ‘He just stole one of the badges,’” said the store’s owner, who would identify herself only as Sue. She said she reported the theft to Chicago police, who wouldn’t confirm the report Thursday.

Within two hours of leaving her store, the shopper, a 14-year-old teen, walked into the Grand Crossing District and conned his way into a traffic cop’s car, spending the next five hours on duty, even driving a squad car, sources say.

The teen, an 8th grader whom the Tribune has not identified because he is a juvenile, was caught after a supervisor noticed he wasn’t wearing a star or a gun. He produced the fake novelty badge when he was questioned. He was arrested and remains in juvenile custody.

On Thursday, Police Supt. Jody Weis, returning from a Washington conference of police chiefs, called the incident “unforgivable ... angering and disturbing.”

Weis said the department is conducting a thorough investigation of what happened and had even asked the U.S. Secret Service to help evaluate security.

Nobody has been disciplined yet, but that doesn’t mean nobody will be, Weis said. He defended police policies but admitted officers failed to enforce them in this case. That put all officers at risk, he said.

“We were fortunate this young man had no evil in his heart,” Weis said at a news conference at police headquarters. “We dodged a bullet on this one.”

Mayor Richard Daley this week publicly expressed anger over the incident, and Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) on Wednesday called for Weis to appear before the Police and Fire Committee next month to explain how no one on the force caught on until the teen had worked at least five hours.

The teen never appeared in a roll call, where supervisors are required to check uniform compliance, said Deputy Supt. of Patrol Daniel Dugan. Sources said the boy was assigned a partner who has been on the force 21/2 years. That officer was on a special traffic detail that required a check-in with the watch commander but didn’t necessitate an appearance at roll call.

The officer checked in with the watch commander and was assigned to a single-officer traffic car, Dugan said.

Sources said the teen signed out a radio and got a locker before being dispatched. At one point, the teen even drove the squad car, taking a motorist who was stopped on a traffic violation back to the station to pay a required bond. The boy’s partner drove the motorist’s car back, the sources said.

Sources also said the teen turned in four “bus surveillance cards,” indicating he made physical security checks on CTA buses. They said he also wrote tickets and participated in a foot chase, but Chicago police would not confirm those details.

The teen had been arrested once before for trying to impersonate a police officer. Weis said vendors have been reminded that police uniforms can’t be sold to anyone except officers with proper identification.

The owner of AJ Uniform said she regrets decorating the store’s mannequin with an official police nameplate belonging to an officer who never returned for items he had bought. From now on, the mannequin will go without a nameplate. Or it won’t be a real name, she said.

“He’ll get the name of Mannequin,” she said.