LI Man Who Impersonated Police Officer To Get Discount Sentenced: PD

BRENTWOOD, NY — A Brentwood man was sentenced to two to four years in prison Monday for impersonating a police officer in an attempt to get a store discount, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Eric Diaz, 43, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty in October to possessing multiple fraudulent NYPD identification cards and impersonating a police officer in order to receive a discount while shopping at a store in Bay Shore, Tierney said.

According to the investigation and Diaz's admissions during his guilty plea allocution, between April 1 to May 31, Diaz identified himself as a police officer and displayed what appeared to be a police badge, handcuffs, and handgun while trying to obtain a “police discount” at a retail store in Bay Shore.

When Diaz was later stopped by police, he was found to be in possession of a holstered electronic stun gun and multiple fraudulent law enforcement identification cards, including a fake NYPD sergeant identification card, the DA said.

During searches of Diaz’s vehicle and home, police recovered numerous fraudulent items of police attire, imitation pistols, a gun belt, a bulletproof vest, and handcuffs, Tierney said.

On August 15, Diaz was arrested by Detective Charles Gambino of the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney’s Squad, Tierney said.

On October 11, Diaz pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro to
second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony, Tierney said.

On Monday, Ambro sentenced Diaz to two to four years in prison; he was represented by the
Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, Tierney said.

"When individuals attempt to impersonate law enforcement officers, they damage the credibility of the honest men and women who are the true enforcers of the law and risk their lives every day as part of their duties," said Tierney. "This defendant attempted to wrongfully benefit from the public service of our sworn law enforcement members, and now he’s going to benefit from our correctional facilities as an inmate."