Crime & Safety

Man Claimed to be Kent State University Police Officer

Sean P. Duffy, 48, has been seen wearing a Kent State police badge and was arrested and charged Tuesday with impersonating a police officer.

An auto repair employee in Akron thought Sean P. Duffy was a police officer when he brought his white Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with "K9" stickers on it to install police lights. 

“When I read his badge it said Kent State University on it. I said, ‘what’s the deal with the Kent State University Badge?’ He said, ‘well I used to be a cop there,’" said Carl Brown of Auto and All repair shop in a  Fox 8 News story.

Brown declined to do the work and contacted authorities after the sketchy encounter. 

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Days later, Duffy's vehicle was spotted again by the Summit County Sheriff's department at a grocery store parking lot in Green. 

“One of the shoppers happened to be a criminal justice instructor at Kent State. It turned out the plates were expired on the vehicle and it just became a part of the investigation at that point,” said Inspector Bill Holland in this Fox 8 news story

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According to the Summit County Sheriff's Department, Duffy, 48, was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer Tuesday. 

The sheriff's office also said Duffy affiliated himself with "Lost and Found K-9 Search and Rescue" and as a former Kent State police officer on his Facebook page.

Fox 8 also reported that Duffy allegedly identified himself as a police officer to other officers during traffic stops. 

Call the sheriff's department at 330-643-2147 if you have had a suspicious run in with Duffy.


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