Watch CBS News

Seen At 11: Secretive NYPD Unit Sniffs Out Bad Cops And Dangerous Impostors

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A retired chief is lifting the curtain on one of the most secretive units in the NYPD -- where good cops work to sniff out the bad ones, and catch fake cops.

Bad guys with badges, guns, and police radios have committed crimes ranging from simple robbery to sex assault.

A Bronx man called police to report a robbery by 'undercover cops.' They had badges on chains around their necks, one had a gun, and they took the man's cellphone and sneakers before taking off.

Were they crooked cops or impostors? As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, it's a case for Internal Affairs, and maybe Group 51.

"Group 51 is our police impersonation unit, and we formed Group 51 when we were doing investigations and we realized that many of the cases we were doing were not real police officers," retired NYPD Chief Charles Campisi said.

Campisi ran NYPD Internal Affairs for almost 20 years.

His new book, 'Blue On Blue,' gives an inside look at how IAB catches bad cops and fake cops.

Campisi said many impersonators have a particular mindset.

"I'm going to pretend to be a police officer, I'll intimidate them enough that I'll reduce their resistance to nothing," he explained.

IAB's Group 51 has busted police impersonators equipped with dozens of radios and scanners, and chased others who use cars with fake police lights to pull over victims and carjack them.

"You'd be surprised by what people will do in the name of trying to pretend to be a cop," he said.

Such as the infamous robbery of a Pay-O-Matic check cashing joint in Queens.

Three white men in blue NYPD jackets with shields around their necks went in and showed the teller a picture of her house to prove they knew where she lived.

They got away with $200,000.

"Everybody believed them to be white men. We got a tip from someone who said, 'I know that face, and that face isn't a real person! That face is a mask!" he said.

They were very expensive masks purchased from a specialty store, and used to hide the identities of three black men who were tried and convicted.

Campisi said police impersonation is a convenient means to a criminal end. The targets are often immigrants who may not report what happened.

"Sometimes it's just greed, opportunity to make money, thinking that they're not going to get caught. Sometimes it's like a power trip. They like the idea of getting people to give in to their supposed authority," he said.

Campisi happy to remind them that real cops work hard to bust the fake ones.

He added that the Internal Affairs Unit dedicating to busting bogus cops has about a dozen investigators on permanent assignment, making about 100 arrests every year.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.