A jury has found a former Newark police officer guilty of impersonating a police officer and making false reports.
Eddie Gonzalez handed in his badge in 2008 but continued to wear his police uniform in public to get favors, prosecutors contended.
For example, when he met a woman in 2013, Gonzalez, sporting a Newark police shirt, told her he was a cop. That girl wound up becoming his girlfriend, but the relationship soured and both obtained mutual restraining orders.
Gonzalez was charged with filing false police reports after he told Newark police his ex violated the restraining order six times between December 2014 and February 2015 by stalking him or making harassing phone calls.
However, it turns out, prosecutors said, that Gonzalez was lying to police — evidence showed that his ex-girlfriend was not at the places Gonzalez claimed she was.
Gonzalez, 39, has three pending indictments against him, including one indictment for failing to surrender a personal weapon when he was served with a restraining order.
He also has a disorderly person conviction for harassing a 14-year-old girl who lived next door to him. The incident occurred on Aug. 28, 2002, when Gonzalez, then 23 years old and dressed in his police uniform, visited the girl’s home, an appellate court decision states. The girl attempted to avoid speaking with Gonzalez but he grabbed her by the shoulders and forced his tongue into her mouth, the decision said.
This incident cost Gonzalez his job as a police officer.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8 and faces a minimum of 18 months in prison.
Source: http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2018/04/disgraced_ex_cop_convicted_of_using_uniform_to_get.html