May 27, 2008 7:51 pm US/Eastern
Nassau Police, Cab Co. Thwart Cop Impersonator
Suspect Said To Have Handcuffs, Uniform, Pellet Guns And Fake Badge; Accused Of Kidnapping Woman
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Day in and day out police officers serve our communities and protect us.
But authorities on Long Island say a fake cop – carrying handcuffs, a badge and even a weapon – recently kidnapped a woman.
CBS 2 HD has learned how the real police, with the help of a taxicab company, nabbed the suspect.
The unusual call came into Levittown taxi dispatcher Ed Keighron.
"I get a phone call from somebody identifying himself as Chris, a Nassau County Police officer," Keighron said.
The officer said he was following one of Keighron's cabs on the Hempstead Turnpike and needed it to pull over fast.
"So I radioed the car. I told him to pull over, which he did," Keighron said.
What the dispatcher, driver and female passenger didn't know was that the man approaching the taxi was allegedly armed with pellet guns, a fake shield bought online, a Nassau Police shirt from a uniform store and handcuffs from an equipment shop.
Christopher Mackrodt, 31, a Levittown mechanic, has been charged with criminal impersonation, kidnapping and DWI, He is also accused of snatching a horrified 39-year-old passenger from the cab.
"He identifies himself as a police officer, says a suspect in cab he needs to arrest -- a female in the back of the cab. He places her in handcuffs and removes her in own personal vehicle," said Inspector Jay Caputo of the Nassau County Police.
Police say three hours later the alleged impersonator unbelievably drove the handcuffed woman to the taxi company, where dispatcher Keighron alertly called 911. He had been suspicious of the whole ordeal, and helped police nab the suspect.
"Do not pull over for an unmarked car," Caputo warned the public. "If there are any questions, call 911 and demand a marked cruiser."
Mackrodt was fired by the Yellow Cab of Long Island Company five years ago. He has a prior arrest for DWI, and says he is not guilty of this latest crime.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments