CHICAGO — A man who has been repeatedly arrested for impersonating a Chicago police officer — including once when he was just 14 — has been charged again with posing as a cop, authorities said.
Vincent Richardson, 26, is accused of pretending to be a Chicago police sergeant on three occasions in recent weeks and has been charged with felony impersonation of an officer.
Richardson was first arrested in 2009 at age 14, when he was so convincing as a cop that he was assigned a radio and went on patrol with a real officer. In that episode, 14 officers, including the captain running the watch during Richardson’s shift and seven sergeants, were brought up on departmental charges, the Chicago Tribune reported.
In 2013, at age 19, Richardson pretended he was an officer and was arrested when he tried to buy police equipment.
And in 2015, at age 21, Richardson was arrested after police stopped his car while investigating a call of shots fired. He was wearing a protective vest and had a police duty belt, scanner, BB gun and stun gun in his possession.
He received 18-month sentences for impersonating an officer after each offense.
