AA Pilot Busted for Impersonating Cop

[Melon]

http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2006/04/airline_pilot_u.html

 

[Secret Squirrel]

How much you wanna bet he was a federal flight deck officer and flashed his ID to get out of a ticket. The officer got pissed when he found out the truth because the pilot was a prick about it and this is where we stand now. That is one problem with the whole program. The ID lets you carry a firearm but it gives you no other powers and it is obvious the federal government does not want it and will not support those who have it.

Or he could just be a complete idiot.

SS

 

[FN FAL]

You got to love this gem of a response to the article:

turNING ON THE CAPS KEY SO IT WILL LOOK LIKE I AM SHOUTING.
THIS ARREST IS JUST ANOTHER INSANE EXAMPLE OF RACIAL INJUSTICE. JUST BECAUSE THE MAN WAS CLAIMING TO BE AN AIR MARSHALL DOES NOT MAKE HIM A CRIMINAL. EVERYTIME THE RACIST COPS SEE AN OTHERWISE HONEST THUG, THEY ASSUME HE IS BLACK. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP. DO THE COPS STOP EVERY CRIMINAL JUST BECAUSE HE IS OF A DIFFERENT MINORITY? HOW MANY WHITE AIR MARSHALL IMPERSONATORS DID THEY STOP DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD? EVERYTHING IS SO RACIST. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. HE WAS SUCH A SWEET BOY WHO NEVER DID NOTHING TO NOBODY. WHY, HE WOULD GIVE THE SHIRT OFF OF HIS BACK TO ANYBODY AND HE PROBABLY HAD AN UNFORTUNATE UPBRINGING.

 

[FN FAL]

How much you wanna bet he was a federal flight deck officer and flashed his ID to get out of a ticket. The officer got pissed when he found out the truth...

Local police officers can walk around ticked off 24/7/365, that doesn't have a thing to do with the impersonation indictment in federal court and the federal investigator's claim of "making a false statement'.

Are you claiming that because the pilot ticked off the police man, that the police man did something mean to the pilot?

I don't think so, the feds have their own agenda and authority to enforce the law and prosecute...and they don't do what local popo's tell them to do.

I have a feeling that there were probably at least one or several chances when the pilot was given an opportunity at a lessor outcome, but didn't take it for one reason or another. At least that's my gut feeling...I could be wrong, there really isn't that much information to go on in this article.

Commercial pilot indicted on federal charges

BY HURST LAVIANA

The Wichita Eagle

An American Airlines pilot has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Wichita on charges of impersonating a federal air marshal and making a false statement to a federal investigator, the U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday.

Peter V. Austin, 42, of Wichita, was indicted in a case relating to a March 5 stop by Park City police, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.

A woman who answered the phone at Austin's home said the family would have no comment.

The indictment does not detail the events surrounding that stop, and the Park City Police Department in a statement said it would not comment on the case because of its sensitive nature and its relationship to national security.

If convicted, Austin faces up to three years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the impersonation charge, and five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of making a false statement to a federal investigator. There is no parole from federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Transportation Security Administration.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

As a local police officer I often brought cases to the federal prosecutors. Usually they were drug and gun charges. But the Feds were always looking for good cases. Just because he was a LOCAL POPO does not mean he can not take it to the feds, which would be the appropriate place to bring such a charge. There were a lot of benefits to charging federally. Mostly no time off for good behavior.

And what I am saying is that if someone falsely claimed to me, when I was a cop, that he was a federal law enforcement officer and then turned out to not be one I would be pissed and pursue it.

I will give the guy the benefit of the doubt until the facts come out and I am sure there is probably more to the case. What I was trying to bring up was the problems with the FFDO program. Guess I was too vague.

SS

 

[FN FAL]

As a local police officer I often brought cases to the federal prosecutors. Usually they were drug and gun charges. But the Feds were always looking for good cases. Just because he was a LOCAL POPO does not mean he can not take it to the feds, which would be the appropriate place to bring such a charge. There were a lot of benefits to charging federally. Mostly no time off for good behavior.

And what I am saying is that if someone falsely claimed to me, when I was a cop, that he was a federal law enforcement officer and then turned out to not be one I would be pissed and pursue it.

I will give the guy the benefit of the doubt until the facts come out and I am sure there is probably more to the case. What I was trying to bring up was the problems with the FFDO program. Guess I was too vague.

SS

So, you're saying a local beat cop just determines it's better to charge a subject federally, so he drives to the federal building instead of his own station house with the subject?

 

[Secret Squirrel]

I can't say personally for every department in the country but we did. We could either charge them locally or state to put them in jail and then have the local DA forward the info to the Feds or walk the information over to the federal building and ask them to take the case. How did you think they got their cases? If they only took cases the FBI & DEA put together then they would be the slowest offices in the country.

Federal cases were great. They went to federal prison where the time they got was the time they did. There are lots of cases where the fruits of the crime make it a federal case. Like I said guns and drugs. If we had a drug case that involved a firearm it automatically went to the Feds. Fake money, immigration offenses, and as it looks like impersonating a federal officer.

SS

 

[FN FAL]

You can hold a person without local charges for 72 hours.

As for some joe blow beat cop sauntering over to the federal building with state property on state time, I still don't understand that part. Unless it was a one cop town and you were the police chief.

 

[satpak77]

You can hold a person without local charges for 72 hours.

As for some joe blow beat cop sauntering over to the federal building with state property on state time, I still don't understand that part. Unless it was a one cop town and you were the police chief.

A state/local can present evidence acquired in the course of his duties to the Assistant US Attorneys office if federal charges can be brought. Most commonly, this applies to drug, immigration, gun type cases.::

EX:

1) If Officer Jones with PoDunk PD stops a van full of illegals, and two have guns on them, this will be made known to the prosecutor, when INS presents its case.

2) Sheriff Deputy Smith stops someone with an FBI badge and claims to be an FBI agent. Deputy Smith later discovers that this in fact is not true. Smith Mirandizes the subject who still admits guilt. FBI shows up and the subject refuses to make additional statements, since the "feds are here."
All statements by the fake FBI agent are allowable in the federal prosecution even tho the only person to hear them was Deputy Smith.

3) A city council member is using his position to conduct contract fraud and abuse of authority against local businesses. It is determined that he is falsifying various documents, one which allows federal housing funds to go into his pocket. This will likely result in a joint State/Federal prosecution.

As far as "joe blow beat cop sauntering into the federal building" usually that is not what happens anyway. Most matters which need investigation follow-up discovered by the Patrol section ("beat cop") are referred to that departments CID/Detective section, which typically has liasion with FBI, DEA, etc in that town. In simplistic terms, cases in which a subject may be indicted, further charged later, or are unsolved, are put in the CID "in-box" at the station. If it might go to court, CID typically will get it.

These would be missing children, domestic abuse, bank robbery, check fraud, etc etc to name only a few. Cases typically NOT placed in CID in-box are traffic violations (except DUI type stuff), "maintain the peace" type calls (loud party, etc), suspicious vehicles calls, dead animals, etc

If something is federally prosecutable, the investigation will be "launched" from CID in most cases.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Well I am sure your experience with Law & Order and Andie Griffith are far superior to my years as an actual police officer. 72 hours without charges? Good luck in real life but I think I did see that once on hill street blues.

I am not trying to tell you what happened in this case, just telling it like it was in mine.