Beware of phony cops

Just two days after a “Grinch” duo posing as police officers were apprehended after a Christmas Eve abduction and push-in robbery in Whitestone, a second pair of burglars looted a residence in the Oakland Hills section of Bayside, posing as detectives.
According to police at the 111th Precinct in Bayside, on the afternoon of Friday, December 26, a second floor resident of a dwelling on 217th Street in the Oakland Gardens section of Bayside heard a noise in the apartment above.
The neighbor said they went upstairs to investigate and saw two men wearing blue NYPD windbreakers who had apparently forced the door open.
One man showed the neighbor what looked like a NYPD detective’s shield. The men were carrying chrome-plated handcuffs and had a police-scanning radio, cops said.
According to the witness, the pair told him they were removing the computer “as evidence,” because the owner of the apartment “had been arrested for drugs.” They also took a cell phone and a small safe.
Suspicious, the witness copied down the license plate number of the blue 2002 Jeep Cherokee that the men used to leave the scene.
An investigation revealed that the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier in the day within the 109th Precinct. It had been parked near the corner of 14th Avenue and 129th Street in College Point on Wednesday, December 24.
According to Community Affairs Officers at the 111th, the public should be aware that under departmental procedures, two cops on their own just don’t do that sort of thing.
“First of all, when a dwelling is being entered, there’s supposed to be a supervisor present,” a police source said, adding “Usually if a door has to be forced, it’s done by an Emergency Services Unit.”
“Anybody can call 9-1-1 if they see something suspicious,” the source continued, “We really want to catch guys like that - they make us look bad and erode the public’s confidence in the department.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that you confront people you see in the act,” he cautioned. “Just get on the phone and call it in.”