Roland Herrera's schmucky decision to impersonate a police officer -- to a cop

Impersonating a police officer is a schmucky thing to do under pretty much every circumstance -- unless you're starring in a TV drama or auditioning for the Village People, that is. But some impersonations are schmuckier than others. Proof can be found in the monumentally stupid story of Roland Herrera,...

By Westword Staff

October 4, 2013

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Impersonating a police officer is a schmucky thing to do under pretty much every circumstance -- unless you're starring in a TV drama or auditioning for the Village People, that is.

But some impersonations are schmuckier than others.

Proof can be found in the monumentally stupid story of Roland Herrera, who was arrested for pretending to be a cop after he tried to use his fake occupation to shake down...another cop.

The tale comes to us from the Pueblo Chieftain, which reveals how Herrera, a 63-year-old felony parolee from Texas, wound up behind bars again.

According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, the trouble started when Herrera sidled up to a customer with multiple cell phones who was talking to a clerk at a local store.

"Why do you have so many phones?" Herrera allegedly asked. "Are you a drug dealer?"

Nope. He was actually an undercover detective, although he didn't reveal his identity to Herrera. Instead, he just tried ignoring him, to no avail.

At that point, Herrera is said to have identified himself as a "a cop" and ordered him to fork over those illicit substances he was no doubt peddling.

The detective responded by asking Herrera for identification, which he obviously didn't have. So instead of showing him an ID, the faux-officer just asked for drugs again.

He got something else entirely -- an arrest for impersonation of a peace officer. Herrera was promptly booked and jailed on a $25,000 bond.

Sorry, Roland -- but there is some good news: Now, you'll be telling the truth if you inform people you were the Schmuck of the Week.

Here's a larger look at Herrera's booking photo.

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