CHICAGO — A 14-year-old aspiring police officer who allegedly donned a uniform and managed to go on a real traffic patrol pleaded not guilty Monday to impersonating an officer.
The muscular teen, standing about 5-feet-3, appeared glum in juvenile court. He was ordered to remain in custody for at least several more weeks because he could pose a danger to himself.
Outside the courtroom, a recent guardian described the teenager as a bright boy who dreamed of one day becoming a police officer.
He was detained two previous times for impersonating an officer, though he never managed to take the ruse as far as he did last weekend, said the Rev. Roosevelt Watkins.
“He has good intentions, good desires, good aspirations,” Watkins said. “He’s just going about it the wrong way.”
Police said the boy reported for duty Saturday at a South Side police station and was assigned to go on patrol in a squad car with an actual officer. Police have said he did not have a gun, never issued any tickets and didn’t drive the car.
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
