Fired NM Cop Tries To Get Out Of Ticket By Saying He’s A Cop

A former New Mexico cop who was fired was arrested in New York for impersonating an officer to try and get out of a routine traffic ticket. We've all tried to get out of a ticket in a unique way. From crying, pretending you have to be, pretending to get your period or even feigning some sort of medical emergency, people can get pretty crazy. But one former New Mexico officer tried to say show his badge and say he was an officer to get out of a ticket. The problem was, he wasn't a cop and it wasn't a real badge.

Justin Romero, 29 years old, was arrested in New York last month after he was pulled over for not having a front license plate on his pick-up truck.  Romero was stopped outside of the Queens Midtown Tunnel when he told the officers he was a police officer and flashed a New Mexico State Police badge during the traffic stop. Turns out the "badge" he flashed was actually a commemorative shield New Mexico State police were able to buy back in 2015. News Station KRQE spoke to Chief of Police Pete Kassetas who explained what the commemorative badges were for,

"I authorized our officers to wear it on their uniform for one year to celebrate our 80th anniversary. They were able to keep those badges as a keepsake."

Detectives in New York contacted the New Mexico State Police and Chief Kassetas to see if Romero was still a police officer on the force. The Chief informed the New York detectives that Romero was not an officer in New Mexico anymore. KRQE looking into Romero and found that he had been fired from the force after less than a year back in 2016. Romero was fired after using a state-issued fuel card to fill up his personal vehicle. Chief Kassetas says that type of behavior is not allowed on the force,

“That doesn’t work for me. He knows the difference between right and wrong. This was unacceptable. The core of what we do is our integrity and we don’t break the law.”

After the incident in New York involving Romero, he thanked the New York Police for looking deeper into the matter and notifying them.

“I appreciate the New York Police Department reaching out to us. He (Romero) was impersonating a police officer. He doesn’t have a badge for a reason and I can assure you he wouldn’t be working in New Mexico again.”

Back in New York, Romero was charged with impersonating a police officer and more charges and will be in court in April.