Fake officer handcuffs drunk man, gets arrested himself by Atlanta officers

After posing as a law enforcement officer and handcuffing a drunk man at a strip club, an Atlanta man found himself arrested instead, according to the Atlanta Police Department (APD).

Terrence Jacks, 49, faces a charge of impersonating a public officer or employee, police said. He was taken to Fulton County Jail.

“The Atlanta Police Department would like to remind all citizens that police impersonators jeopardize the legitimacy of the law enforcement profession and that this arrest is significant in maintaining the community’s trust in our department,” the police department said in a statement.

On Sept. 1 after 3 a.m., APD officers responded to Fair Drive SW and Metropolitan Parkway SW after a reported car accident. One of the vehicles’ passengers, 47-year-old Samuel Smith, was in handcuffs. His wife, 42-year-old Patricia Smith, said the two were at a strip club called Peaches of Atlanta when an officer cuffed her husband, bodycam footage shows.

Sensing something was wrong, the officers went to the strip club, police said. That’s where they met Jacks, who was wearing a police patch and homeland security special agent badge. He also had a radio, a handgun and a car sporting blue lights and police decals, according to APD.

Bodycam footage shows Jacks telling officers he was with the Department of Homeland Security. He said he was working as a club security guard and handcuffed a man who ran away in an SUV.

Jacks showed officers what he said were homeland security credentials, but police detained him for questioning. The license plate on his car was from a public school bus, police said. Officers later confirmed Jacks was not a homeland security special agent.

Patricia Smith was charged with DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license, police said. Meanwhile, Samuel Smith was arrested for an active warrant out of Fulton County, according to APD. He was also taken to the hospital for treatment.