Sheriff: Fake Cop Arrested Over LIE Traffic Stop

Juan Santiago, left, drove a 2005 Crown Victoria, right, which had been altered to look like an unmarked police patrol car, the sheriffs office said.

5/13/09 - Call it conduct unbecoming a wannabe officer.

A Middle Island man was arrested after a deputy sheriff saw him flashing emergency lights in a white Ford Crown Victoria to pull over a minivan on the Long Island Expressway Tuesday and interview the driver while wearing a body armor vest and a patch, authorities said.

When the deputy sheriff asked who he worked for, Juan Santiago, 39, of Winterberry Drive called himself a "volunteer" and told him, "I'm just helping you guys out," according to authorities.

At about 6:05 a.m. Tuesday in the westbound HOV enforcement lane near Exit 57 near Hauppauge, Deputy Sheriff Michael Brecht initially pulled over to assist Santiago but became suspicious during their conversation and when Santiago could not produce a police ID, according to Chief Michael Sharkey of the Suffolk County sheriff's department.

Santiago also asked Brecht if he was going to write the motorist a ticket for speeding, a comment that is "unusual for an officer to say to another officer," Sharkey said.

When Brecht told Santiago he could not write the motorist a ticket for a violation he did not witness, "the guy got this puzzled look on his face," Sharkey said.

Santiago was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree criminal impersonation. He is being held at the Suffolk County jail on $10,000 cash bail and is due back in court Monday. It was unclear if Santiago actually said he was a law enforcement officer, but Sharkey said the nature of the incident made it a crime.

"A citizen cannot instigate a traffic stop," Sharkey said.

Santiago flashed a pistol license to the motorist, though he was not armed, Sharkey said. He also was wearing boots and dark clothes that had a partially visible patch on the shirt, authorities said. His vehicle had police lights and a scanner, as well as a Crime Stoppers sticker, according to the sheriff's office.

Investigators ask anyone who has had contact with Santiago under similar circumstances should call the Criminal Investigations Bureau at 631-852-2290.

Attempts to reach Santiago were unsuccessful Tuesday. Sharkey said Santiago worked for an ice cream company and had no criminal history.

Posted Sunday, May 17, 2009

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