Police Impostors Pose a Persistent Threat : Protection: In New York, approximately 1,300 complaints were filed about impersonations last year. Easy availability of phony badges and other gear adds to problem.

The clean-cut man looked like a plainclothes police officer, carried a gun like one, even flashed a badge like one.

But when he ordered a 19-year-old woman into his car, he acted like what he really was--a sex offender, police said.

The man forced the woman to perform oral sex on him before letting her go, she told police. The next day, Maxie Tindal, a 30-year-old letter carrier, was arrested and charged with sodomy, criminal possession of a weapon and impersonating a police officer.

His arrest highlighted a persistent problem in a city that employs more than 30,000 police officers. Last year, the Police Department handled about 1,300 complaints involving police impostors, including 400 robberies.

In one recent week, police arrested two suspects who told their victims they were officers: a school security guard who handcuffed a woman before sexually assaulting her, and a 19-year-old man who pistol-whipped and robbed an elderly man who let him in the front door.

The trail of crime and deception threatens to further erode a reputation damaged by recent accusations of corruption against real officers, police said.

The impersonators “are really making it bad for cops,” said Lt. Robert DiVagno, commander of a newly formed unit charged with combatting the problem.

Formed in January, the 18-member investigative unit is looking for patterns in recent robberies and other crimes committed by suspects who gain trust and access by posing as police officers, DiVagno said.

Police said Tindal carried a detective’s gold shield--possibly a real one that was stolen--a loaded .45-caliber handgun, a flashing dome light and an expired police parking pass.

When he saw the victim on a secluded Bronx street Jan. 25, he showed her his badge and his gun and accused her of being a prostitute. He threatened to arrest her unless she had sex with him, police said.

Police arrested Tindal the next night as he cruised the same area.

Impostors use their false authority for everything from beating subway fares to pulling jewelry heists. Often, they steal from drug dealers, prostitutes and other petty criminals who are less likely to report robberies.

Police already know that the fake officers often outfit themselves with replica badges, handcuffs and nightsticks purchased from mail-order firms that advertise in true crime magazines.

Civilian possession of a shield stating “City of New York Police,” real or fake, is a misdemeanor. But police admit they can do little about badges coming into the city.

One company, International Police Equipment Co. of Perris, Calif., offers a variety of “professional” badges by mail for $6.95 each. Also available are badge cases that allow the carrier to “flash your badge in an official manner,” a magazine ad says.

The company’s legitimate market is for private investigators and collectors, said manager Joyce Smith. The company refuses to fill orders from customers it finds suspicious, she said.

“We try very hard to make sure nobody who shouldn’t have a badge gets one,” she said.

Still, fake shields often end up in the hands of criminals. Perhaps the most infamous was the “Hillside Strangler,” Kenneth Bianchi. Bianchi was known to flash a bogus badge at victims during his killing spree in the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s.

When a crook carries a shield, “most people tend to think they’re dealing with a cop, sometimes even after that, quote, ‘cop’ commits a crime,” DiVagno said.