Lisle man charged, again, with impersonating a police officer
A Lisle man faces another charge that he impersonated a Chicago police officer - this time in Downers Grove.
Vincent M. Richardson, 26, of the 900 block of Lacey Avenue, faces one felony count in DuPage County of false personation of a police officer.
Downers Grove police allege that around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 26, Richardson entered an Amazon distribution center at 3800 Finley Road and told a supervisor he was a police officer. He was wearing a Chicago Police Department uniform with police patches and insignia, plus a police duty belt, according to the complaint.
An arrest warrant has been issued, and bail is set at $25,000.
Richardson is already being held on $85,000 bail at the Cook County jail on several charges that he impersonated Chicago police in the city.
On Feb. 12, Cook County Judge Arthur Willis told Richardson during a bond call hearing that his actions "show you are a danger to the community." Richardson had been charged with false personation, including pulling over a vehicle and searching its occupants.
Cook County prosecutors say that on Jan. 14, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 Richardson, while wearing a full Chicago police uniform, pretended to be a sergeant. They say he was seen searching for the source of gunfire and using his flashlight to get drivers to slow down their vehicles in the area.
Cook County prosecutor Ellen Brett told Willis that Richardson is well-known to security guards at a Chicago Housing Authority site on the West Side and that he told them he had been a Chicago officer for six years and had been promoted to the department's SWAT team.
Evidence presented at the February bond hearing included TikTok and Instagram videos in which Richardson seems to be impersonating an officer as he fires a gun at a shooting range.
Richardson was first charged with false personation of an officer in 2009, at the age of 14. In that case, he managed to work at least part of a patrol shift with an officer and helped arrest a suspect.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.