Chicago teen police impersonator arrested again as adult
A man arrested three times for impersonating a Chicago police officer, including once at age 14, has been arrested again for the same crime
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A man arrested three times for impersonating a Chicago police officer including once at age 14, has been arrested again for the same crime police said.
Vincent Richardson was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony impersonation of an officer, police said Thursday. He is accused of pretending to be a Chicago police sergeant on Jan. 14, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Authorities haven’t released details on Richardson’s latest actions.
Richardson, who was also wanted on a warrant, was scheduled to appear Friday in Cook County Circuit Court. It wasn’t immediately known whether he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
Richardson was arrested in 2009 at age 14 after being so convincing as a police officer that he was assigned a radio and went on patrol with a real officer.
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.