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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man with a history of impersonating a police officer has been arrested again after investigators say he forced another man to give him money for nearly a week.
West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell said the fake officer, 20-year-old William Calhoun, met his victim in a "drug-related" circumstance.
"Initially, he did not present himself as a police officer," Powell said. But when the two met again, Calhoun showed the man a badge and claimed to be an officer.
Over a period of seven to 10 days, Calhoun used the badge to convince the victim to withdraw hundreds of dollars from his account at an ATM machine, at one point even handcuffing the victim.
What led investigators to Calhoun was his alleged victim suffered an overdose, Powell said. As real police officers were investigating the incident, Calhoun's name kept coming up, he said.
Detectives later called Calhoun on his cell and arranged a meeting near 3500 South and 1600 West where he was arrested. He is now facing multiple counts of impersonating a police officer, several counts of robbery, one count of kidnapping and for providing false information — apparently he gave police a false name at the time of his arrest.
Powell said a real police officer would never act like Calhoun did. "Most officers are going to have an ID card of some sort that will go with a badge that is a legitimate badge," he said. "And you're always likely going to find a second officer, or some other officers around that are going to be able to solidify and validate what's going on."
Police say this isn't the first time Calhoun has been suspected of impersonating a police officer. A probable cause statement says he has a history of impersonating an officer while concealing a weapon.
Calhoun allegedly impersonated an officer in Sandy in July. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in court on Wednesday.
In 2008, Calhoun impersonated an officer in South Jordan, according to court records. A charge of impersonating an officer was later dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Police say there's only one victim they know of this time around, but they encourage anyone else who has had a run-in with Calhoun to notify police.
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Written by Nkoyo Iyamba and Pat Reavy.
