Supply Shop’s Wares Catch Eye of Police
If you get pulled over by an LAPD officer flashing badge 714, you are either dealing with Sgt. Joe Friday come to life or with an impostor.
And if it’s an impostor, that fake badge may have come from the same place where you could equip yourself with a Bounty Hunter ID certified by “The Assn. of Independent Bailbondsmen,” a Special Weapons Permit that says the bearer can tote “automatic and suppressed weapons” an “American Press Assn.” press card or what appears to be a foreign passport.
They’re all fakes distributed by NIC Law Enforcement Supply of Shreveport, La.
You can order them right over the Internet or you can call for a catalog. That’s what Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bombing suspect, did.
“After the bombing, we looked through our records and found out he had ordered a catalog, years ago,” said Alan Hunter, NIC’s affable owner. “We reported it to the FBI,” which went through company records but found no evidence McVeigh bought any misleading IDs.
Although Hunter insisted his products are “for amusement only,” LAPD Det. Bill Henebry isn’t laughing.
“Obviously, people can be fooled by these kinds of things,” said Henebry, of the Bunco-Forgery Division. “The Hillside Strangler had a fake badge he used to try and pass himself off as a police officer.”
The NIC’s LAPD badge is a replica of the one used by Joe “just the facts, ma’am” Friday in the “Dragnet” TV show. It’s the only instance, Henebry said, of the department allowing an actual badge to be used for an entertainment show but badge 714 was retired when “Dragnet” went off the air.
It’s a convincing copy, with two important differences. First, it’s a wallet badge. LAPD officers don’t use them, only the bigger shirt badge. And it’s smaller than the real thing, only about 1 3/4 inches tall. But flashed quickly, Henebry said, “Some people wouldn’t know the difference.”
City attorney’s officials said duplicating the badge apparently breaks no local laws, but it would definitely be illegal for a civilian to use it to pose as a cop.
Hunter said he knows of no such case, but admitted that some of his other products had been “misused.”
It’s easy to see why. For example, the “Bounty Hunter” card comes complete with official-looking seal, the endorsement of the “Independent Bailbondsmen” organization (even Hunter is unsure if there is such a group) and a serial number. Buyers supply their own picture, signature and expiration date.
Hunter also did not see anything wrong with the fact that the American Press Assn. does not exist and the weapons “permit” actually gives the bearer no special rights.
The weapons card, he said, is bought by people who want something more appealing than an authentic but plain, government issue permit. “This gives it a little sex appeal or pizazz,” he said.
NIC gets occasional calls from law agencies investigating crimes. One man tried to use an NIC fake passport as identification when opening a bank account. Another used one of the company’s Organized Crime Bureau ID in an attempt to convince a computer supplier he was authorized by the Department of Justice to purchase $60,000 worth of equipment.
“If people are stupid enough to use an ID like that, they are going to get caught,” Hunter said. “We think most people are not going to be fooled.”
Of course, he only hears about the cases where people are caught.
