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Badges were real; 'cop' was not

David Justin Rice's odd request made a sheriff's deputy suspicious, Tampa police say.

By BRADY DENNIS
Published May 5, 2006

[Times photo: Chris Zuppa]

David Justin Rice had authentic law enforcement badges from six agencies and a collection of drivers' licenses and ID cards, authorities say.

TAMPA - They call him a wanna-be cop and a threat to ordinary citizens. Most of all, they call him a criminal.

Detectives say 24-year-old David Justin Rice has a dangerous habit of passing himself off as a law enforcement officer.

On Thursday, the Tampa Police Department displayed items Rice allegedly accumulated in his quest to appear the lawman he wasn't.

Among them: red and blue flashing lights, a siren and a police scanner inside his 1997 Ford Explorer; authentic badges from six Florida law enforcement agencies; clothing that identified him as a Tampa police officer; and a collection of firearms, from handguns to shotguns.

"He has more police equipment than I do," Tampa Detective Greg Stout said.

Investigators said Rice's ruse unraveled recently when he approached a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy at Pete's Towing on 40th Street. He was wearing a jacket with Tampa police patches on the sleeves and a 9mm handgun in a holster.

According to reports, Rice asked the deputy to call for backup in reference to an argument at the business, a strange request considering the incident took place within city limits.

The deputy grew suspicious, jotted down Rice's license plate and called Tampa police, who later arrested Rice.

Investigators say they aren't sure how Rice obtained much of his paraphernalia, including badges from four sheriff's offices, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Tavares Police Department, which had come from a manufacturer in Massachusetts.

"You just can't go on eBay and buy a police badge," Stout said.

Rice also had 24 drivers' licenses or ID cards belonging to local residents and others in Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. Detectives reached at least seven of those people, none of whom said they knew Rice.

"We don't know if he's conducted traffic stops," Stout said. "We don't know if he's done roadside driver's license revocations. We're asking the public for help."

Records show that Rice has been accused of similar behavior before. Tampa police officers arrested him at 1:30 a.m. on March 23, 2004, near Nebraska and Hanna avenues. The charges: unlawful use of a blue light and unlawful installation of police radio equipment, both misdemeanors.

But now, he faces more than two dozen felony charges and a handful of additional misdemeanors, including charges of falsely impersonating an officer, unlawful use of a police badge, unlawful use of a blue light, openly carrying a weapon, unlawful installation of police radio equipment and unauthorized possession of a driver's license.

Rice, who during past arrests listed his employers as Coyote Ugly and Carmine's, both Ybor City establishments, was jailed last week but was released on $4,000 bail.

Police officials on Thursday said that nearly all traffic stops are conducted by uniformed officers and usually do not involve unmarked vehicles.

Anyone who grows suspicious of a person claiming to be an officer can request to see a badge and official law enforcement ID, officials said. Also, they said, during a traffic stop, drivers should pull over into a well-lighted, populated area, such as a gas station.

Drivers also can request the presence of another uniformed officer at the scene, they said.

[Last modified May 5, 2006, 02:52:18]