Police: Long Island Man Charged With Impersonating ICE Agent
PORT JEFFERSON STATION, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man is accused of impersonating a federal agent and then putting a teen in handcuffs during a bizarre confrontation in Suffolk County.
Police said 39-year-old David Bradley activated emergency lights he had on his vehicle and pulled over a 19-year-old driver following a road rage incident on Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Woodhull Avenue and Route 347 in Port Jefferson Station.
He then got out wearing a bullet proof vest and told the teen he was an agent with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, according to investigators.
"He confronted him wearing an outfit that made him look like he was law enforcement," said Suffolk County Police Lt. Michael S. Murphy. "He had a badge hanging from his neck, he was wearing a bullet proof vest, he had a holster with a gun."
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Bradley then allegedly handcuffed the teen, put him in the back of his car and then drove him to his home in Port Jefferson Station.
After about five minutes inside, Bradley took the handcuffs off the teen and drove him back to his car on the highway, police said.
The teen reported the incident to police the next day and cops arrested Bradley when they said he went to police to report the same road rage incident.
But Bradley's attorney said Wednesday that the teen went willingly to the house and that the accusations aren't true.
"Our position is that this never happened, he was never involved in any impersonation whatsoever," said attorney Anthony Lapinta. "What I will say about his true identity is that he is a very hardworking man, he's an accomplished business man."
Bradley is a married executive with an insurance company and father of two.
He is charged with unlawful imprisonment and criminal impersonation.
Police said it wasn't the first time Bradley has presented himself as an ICE agent.
On May 4, he allegedly tried to get into a crime scene but was refused access by a Suffolk County officer, police said. He's also being charged with criminal impersonation in the second degree for that incident.
One neighbor said Bradley has often been seen wearing a bulletproof vest.
"He told me he was with Homeland Security, that he was working for ICE," Ray Annicelli told CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff.
Bradley's wife had no comment in court Wednesday. His lawyer claimed he is a law abiding citizen and that the driver on the other side of the road rage dispute is at fault.
"There is motive for him to make this up," LaPinta said.
However, the criminal charges are based on the unidentified teen's account. Police are asking anyone else who thinks they may be a victim of this alleged impostor to come forward.
Bradley is being held on $150,000 bail, and prosecutors said more charges are possible.
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