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Man impersonated retired police officer for 25 years, paid to give training, lectures

"It's quite appalling, it's upsetting. We're very proud of what we do and work very hard at what we do, so to find someone who comes along and just takes that for granted and pretends to be one of us, that's upsetting.”

By JC Sevcik
A man in Oak Harbor, WA was arrested after allegedly impersonating a retired police officer for over twenty years. (OHPD/CC)
A man in Oak Harbor, WA was arrested after allegedly impersonating a retired police officer for over twenty years. (OHPD/CC)

OAK HARBOR, Wash., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- An Oak Harbor man who pretended to be a retired police officer for 25 years was arrested last month when he called 911 requesting assistance as an off-duty officer.

On August 6, Jim Bailey, 69, intervened in an argument between a man and a woman. According to accounts, Bailey interrupted the couple's verbal dispute, identifying himself as a retired police officer, and instructed the couple to call 911 and tell the dispatcher an "officer needs assistance."

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According to Oak Harbor Police Chief Edgar Green, the phrase "officer needs assistance" is one law enforcement takes very seriously and this caused units to rush to Bailey's location, creating a risk for the community.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Bailey wearing an Oak Harbor Police Department t-shirt. "He was wearing a shirt that identified him as being a member of the Oak Harbor police department," Green told KOMO News.

Bailey's attorney, Chris Skinner, denies the allegations and characterizes his client as a "good samaritan."

"He was not wearing anything nor did he say anything that suggested he was pretending to be a police officer," Skinner wrote in an email to the Whidbey News Times. "He has been a police officer in the past so maybe his demeanor created a misapprehension."

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Green, however, disputed this claim, saying Bailey never finished training as an officer. "He only lasted 2 to 3 weeks at the Police Academy, he did not succeed there, " said Green.

According to Green, Bailey served as a reserve officer for a short time in the late 1980's, and has been posing as a retired officer ever since.

"It appears through our investigation this has been going on for a good 20 or 25 years or so, " he said.

Green also says Bailey may have benefited financially from his charade.

Green believes Bailey may have been paid to conduct training and lectures while passing himself as a retired cop, and indeed the Whidbey Times acknowledged in their coverage that "Bailey has been identified as a former police officer in several Whidbey News-Times articles and letters to the editor over the years. Several articles detail his work teaching personal security and safety classes."

Members of the community expressed shock and described Bailey as an "outstanding citizen."

The former Mayor of Oak Harbor, Jim Slowik, who hass known Bailey for years said while Bailey claimed he had a degree in criminal justice, Slowik never heard Bailey say he was a law enforcement officer.

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"I've always thought highly of him. It's hard to digest," Slowik said.

"It's quite appalling, it's upsetting," said Green. "We're very proud of what we do and work very hard at what we do, so to find someone who comes along and just takes that for granted and pretends to be one of us, that's upsetting."

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