Man impersonating police officer detained with his own handcuffs

A man who allegedly tried to force his way into a house in Salt Lake City, Utah, claiming he was a police officer was beaten, handcuffed and held until the real police arrived to arrest him.

Just after 6am on Monday, a man went to the back door of a home, "showed a police badge through the house window and said, 'Police!'" according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. The man was not wearing a police uniform but did have a pair of handcuffs, said Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking. He attempted to force his way into the house.



Three people were home at the time, Wilking said. The homeowners, who had recently moved in, almost immediately suspected the man was not a real police officer. One of the occupants of the home and the intruder got into a fight. He was able to grab the fake officer's handcuffs and use them on the man, Wilking said. When Salt Lake police arrived, they found 42-year-old Reed Grover, of West Jordan, handcuffed in the driveway.

Wilking said investigators weren't sure what Grover's motive was. "He wasn't making much sense, what he was saying to (the homeowners)," Wilking said. A toy police badge was also recovered at the scene. Grover was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries sustained during the fight with the homeowner before he was booked into jail for investigation of impersonating a police officer, burglary, parole violation and assault.