A man who allegedly impersonated an NYPD officer in a string of Brooklyn business robberies has been arrested, police said.
Arcelay Camilo, 36, was being questioned at the 62nd precinct on Tuesday evening. He faces charges of robbery and criminal impersonation.
Police say Camilo is the man who has been going into businesses and identifying himself as a cop before roughing up employees and stealing cash.
The manager at Gourmet Deli Grill on 18th Avenue near 64th Street in Borough Park says the imposter looked convincing.
"He just came and pretended to be a cop," said Adel Mahram.
The suspect allegedly tried to get a worker to give him cash at 2 a.m. Tuesday. When the worker asked for ID, the suspect took off with nothing.
But at H & S Deli on New Utrecht Avenue near Bay Ridge Avenue, store owner Jaswinder Singh told News 4 the suspect stole $1,000 from one of his employees on Sunday. Singh says the imposter told the worker he was there to do cigarette inspections and even frisked the employee.
"He opened the register, he took the money. He put it on the counter. He took pictures," said Singh. "He acted like a police officer, you know."
The imposter has struck at five businesses, including a laundromat on 20th Avenue, since last Thursday, police say. The laundromat owner explained to News 4 that the suspect took off his red jacket and showed a shirt underneath that had an NYPD logo. The owner said the suspect told him he was a cop, pushed him up against a wall and took $400 from a cash register.
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At Paksey Grocery on 86th Street, an employee told the News the suspect had on the same outfit but also showed a metal NYPD badge. The suspect got away with hundreds in cash.
