Fake police officer tried to arrest passengers and attacked one in a subway station

NEW YORK CITY — A man posing as an NYPD detective in a Manhattan subway station was caught Sunday night after attempting to detain passengers and take one of them to the hospital, authorities said.

The fake cop, wearing an NYPD detective badge on a chain around his neck, blocked commuters from boarding the public transit system inside the Whitehall Street-South Ferry subway station on the northbound “R” line platform at about 6:35 p.m. and attempted to detain them while posing as a police officer, police said.

Subscribe to

When a 46-year-old subway passenger he tried to stop ignored his instructions, the fake police officer sprayed pepper spray into the back of the passenger’s head.

The fake detective then fled north on an R train, police said.

The 46-year-old man suffered burning and swelling to his face as a result of the pepper spray. He was taken to NYC Health Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition, where he was treated and released.

The fake cop is described as a man who was last seen wearing ripped denim shorts, a black and yellow t-shirt, a yellow cap, and an NYPD detective badge with the number 694 on a chain around his neck.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or (Spanish) at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).