After fake cop pulls over real cop, fake cop winds up behind bars

NJSP PhotoGoldrick.
NJSP Photo
Goldrick.

HOLMDEL —

When a Nutley man pretended to be a cop by pulling someone over on the Garden State Parkway last week, he probably couldn’t have chosen a worse victim. That’s because on Dec. 21 at 7:15 p.m., Richard Goldrick, 68, of Nutley, a civilian, attempted to pull over off-duty Woodbridge police Sgt. Charles Stab, according to the N.J. State Police.

The following is a description the NJSP gave of the incident:

Goldrick was driving a 2013 black Chevy Suburban, pulled behind Stab near Parkway mile marker 116 north and activated emergency lights. Thinking he was being stopped by an undercover vehicle, Stab, who was in his personal vehicle, pulled over to the right shoulder of the Parkway, the NJSP said.

Once both vehicles stopped, Goldrick shut off the emergency lights and immediately drove off, according to Stab. Knowing the incident was suspicious, Stab kept a mental description of the suspect and his license plate number, which he later provided to NJSP detectives.

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, Goldrick consented to an interview about the incident at the NJSP’s Holmdel Barracks. As a result of the investigation and interview, detectives seized a .22-caliber handgun, hollow point ammunition and fraudulent documents from inside Goldrick’s car.

Goldrick was charged with impersonating a police officer, possession of a weapon and possession of false-government documents and was remanded to the Monmouth County Jail in lieu of $52,000 cash bail, without a 10% option.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.