Posing as sheriff, man pulls gun on passing motorist

A 39-year-old Forest Park man, posing as a member of the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun and throwing cat food at a man who was driving through his neighborhood in the early hours of Oct. 20.

Forest Park police responded to the 100 block of Elgin Avenue around 1:40 a.m. after they were told a man wearing a “police jacket” had threatened another man with a firearm.

The alleged victim told police he had been driving through the area looking for his girlfriend’s house when a man walked out of a yard, confronted him in the alley and warned him to slow down because he nearly struck his cat. The man then threw what appeared to be cat food and swiped a set of keys at the vehicle.

Approximately 15 minutes later, the victim returned to the area and saw a Lexus pointed the wrong way on a one-way street. The Lexus then began following him, eventually pulling up next to him in the alley. The driver of the Lexus was wearing a blue jacket with a badge-like emblem on it and identified himself as a “sheriff,” then told the man to “be safe” and pointed a handgun at him.

Later, the man in the sheriff ’s jacket returned to the area once more, this time on foot, and had a confrontation with the man and his girlfriend’s mother, who identified herself as a member of the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office.

Police apprehended the suspect shortly after arriving on scene and noted he was “highly intoxicated” at the time. He told officers he did not point a gun, nor did he own a Lexus, but a Lexus matching the suspect’s vehicle description was located at his residence with a paintball gun on the front passenger seat. Officers also confiscated the man’s sheriff ’s jacket and an empty gun holster.

Acting Chief of Police Ken Gross said he did not believe the suspect was a member of law enforcement.

This information was obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.