One-time teen cop impersonator accused of faking it again

A Chicago man who has been in trouble before for posing as a police officer is accused of doing it again.

And this time, police say, he had backup.

Vincent Richardson, 21, was arrested about 12:25 p.m. Friday and charged with impersonating a police officer, according to Chicago Police.

According to police, officers were responding to a call of shots fired in the 1200 block of West Marquette when they spotted a man driving a Dodge Durango and wearing a bulletproof vest, police said.

They arrested Vincent Richardson for failing to produce police credentials, police said. A passenger, 21-year-old Dantrell Moore, also was wearing a bulletproof vest and was arrested.

Both men had BB guns, and a non-police radio was also found in the SUV, police said.

Officers said they were conducting an “investigatory traffic stop” after shots were reportedly fired in the area, according to a police report. A name check showed Richardson was wanted for failing to appear in court. He has missed at least three prior court hearings on other charges. The black BB gun he was carrying was found in his waistband.

There were notebooks in the pockets of his bulletproof vest and he had a hand-held police radio that was switched to a Chicago Police Department frequency, according to the police report.

Richardson, of the 1200 block of North Dearborn, was charged with false personation of a peace officer and ordered held on $500,000 bail during a court hearing Saturday. Police said a warrant was also out for his arrest on an unrelated charge. He is next scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Moore, of the 7900 block of South May, was also charged with false personation of a peace officer and a misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a weapon. He was ordered held on $500,000 bond Saturday and is next scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Richardson lives with his mother, according to the police report, which also indicated he was not a known gang member.

When Richardson was 14, he fooled police into letting him drive a squad car. In that 2009 incident, Richardson walked into a police station dressed as an officer, went on patrol and even helped with an arrest.

Then, in November 2013, when Richardson was 19, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to posing as an officer again. Prosecutors at the time said he had posed as an officer in July 2013 while trying to buy police clothing.

Richardson showed his driver’s license and was arrested after a store employee looked up his name on the Internet. The worker realized he was the same person who had impersonated an officer as a teen.

Vincent Richardson shown after his 2009 arrest for impersonating a police officer. | File Photo