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Perryville officer arrested at bar for impersonating ABC agent

October 30, 2006|BOBBIE CURD

PERRYVILLE - A patrolman in line to be interviewed for the Perryville police chief position was arrested Friday morning in Richmond and charged with theft and impersonating an officer.

Eddie Wilson, of Richmond, was arrested about 2 a.m. at a bar there and charged with theft by unlawful taking over $300, impersonating a police officer and giving officers a false name and/or address.

He was released Friday afternoon from the Madison County Detention Center on a $1,000 bond.

According to officials at Perryville City Hall, Wilson started as a patrolman on June 1 and had applied for the chief's job Wednesday.

Mayor Bruce Richardson said he received a call from Richmond's police chief Friday morning notifying him of the arrest.

"Evidently, Eddie realized that he had dropped quite a bit of money at the bar that night and decided he may try to get it back. He made a very bad decision," Richardson said, explaining that he was told Wilson went behind the bar's counter to get some cash.

"When he was caught, he tried to explain that he was an Alcohol Beverage Control officer. He had worked for ABC before," Richardson said.

On his job application in Perryville, Wilson said he worked for ABC from October 2002 until March of this year.

One of six seeking to become police chief

Richardson said Wilson was one of six applicants for Perryville chief.

"He was definitely being considered. According to our personnel policy, anyone who's on duty gets preferential treatment for open positions," Richardson said.

He added that Wilson's arrest surprises everyone.

"If there ever was a cleancut young man you would've endorsed, it's Eddie. That's one of the sad things about this - he made a horrific mistake that will follow him for the rest of his life," Richardson said.

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Wilson is a combat veteran, having served time in the Marine Corps as a sergeant and tank commander, the mayor said.

"That's one of the reasons we hired him, because he was a veteran and came out of the service certified. And he grew up in Lebanon, knew the area pretty well. We had the highest regard for him."

Wilson will be suspended without pay pending further details of his arrest, Richardson said, and has not been contacted by the city since his arrest.

"I will be meeting with our city attorney this morning to cover all the bases before talking with him, and he will stay on suspension until we can verify that the charges are true," Richardson said.

Baldwin now full-time

Richardson said newly hired part-time patrolman Merl Baldwin, a former Boyle County deputy sheriff, has been put into Wilson's full-time position for now.

Baldwin was hired recently after Chief Larry Cook was terminated. Cook was arrested Sept. 25 for domestic assault and was arrested a second time after he showed up for court and the judge detected alcohol on his breath.

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