Counterfeit Constabulary in Lower Manhattan Subways
A convicted criminal with a history of weapons possession and grand larceny is prowling Lower Manhattan subway stations, impersonating a New York City Police officer and accosting riders, according to the NYPD.
The individual (photograph at right) wanted in connection with this investigation is identified by the office of the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information (DCPI) as Dominic Ogrady, aged 35. DCPI alleges that on June 23, at the Whitehall-South Ferry station of the R train, Mr. Ogrady, “wearing an NYPD Detective shield displayed from a chain around his neck, was unlawfully stopping commuters from entering the transit system and attempting to detain them while identifying himself as a police officer. One of the individuals he attempted to stop, a 46-year-old male victim, attempted to walk away.”
DCPI alleges that Mr. Ogrady, “then discharged a can of pepper spray to the back of the victim’s head, after which he fled on a northbound R train. The 46-year-old male victim sustained burning and swelling to his face and traveled by private means to Bellevue in stable condition, where he was treated and released.”
According to DCPI, Mr. Ogrady (who also goes by the name Domingo Diaz) was later photographed by a surveillance camera exiting the subway system at the Eighth Street-NYU station. DCPI also says that Mr. Ogrady served six years in prison after being arrested with a firearm in 2007. He has a history of arrests for grand larceny and possession of a forged instrument.
New York State law defines “criminal impersonation in the first degree” as pretending “to be a police officer… or wearing or displaying without authority, any uniform, badge or other insignia or facsimile thereof, by which such police officer… is lawfully distinguished or expresses by his or her words or actions that he or she is acting with the approval or authority of any police department.” This offense is categorized as an E felony, carrying up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. (Close-up of Mr. Ogrady’s bogus badge at left.)