By Bill Carey
Police1
BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. — A New Mexico man has been arrested for impersonating a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Tinder, leading to an investigation into how the man obtained the uniform.
Rico TreShon Dukes was charged with impersonating a police officer and unauthorized wearing of a police uniform and badge, KRQE reported. The sheriff’s office said his dating profile included Dukes in uniform and a photo of a fully marked patrol car.
The sheriff’s office learned about Dukes after a Bernalillo County employee matched with him on Tinder.
“We all looked at it and had our personnel look and we said, ‘That’s not one of our deputies,’ so we double check and then that’s when the major concern came up,” Sheriff John Allen said.
To catch Dukes, authorities showed up at a “date” between the employee and Dukes in Albuquerque. When he arrived, Dukes was wearing BCSO patches, a badge, and a duty belt complete with a handgun and multiple ammo magazines.
The criminal complaint says Dukes got his BCSO gear from a uniform store several months prior by claiming to be shooting promotional videos for the department. Sheriff Allen said they are investigating exactly how Dukes got his hands on a uniform.
“That is concerning to me. Usually when you go to any uniform shop, they make sure and ensure that you are a law enforcement officer and specifically what office or department that you’re working for. I do not know what happened, we’re looking further into that.” Sheriff Allen said.