Far Rockaway man impersonates a police officer

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A Far Rockaway man who allegedly identified himself as a cop and attempted to enter a Woodmere synagogue was arrested in Cedarhurst for impersonating a police officer on Aug. 12, according to police.

On that Saturday at 11:05 a.m., a security guard for the Young Israel of Woodmere shul at 859 Peninsula Blvd. saw a man parked in a restricted area who tried to get into the synagogue.

He approached the man and saw that he was wearing a blue baseball cap with the letters NYPD on the front and the word Police on the side, and had handcuffs and a mace case on his belt and identified himself as a “cop,” police said.

After being stopped and questioned again, the man showed the security guard what appeared to be a NYPD detective shield. The guard then asked for police identification. The man then went back to his vehicle and left.

After the subsequent investigation, detectives arrested Mikhail Mikhaylov, 29, of 1334 Caffrey Ave., on Aug. 13 at 2:47 p.m., in Cedarhurst. He is being charged with criminal impersonation second-degree.

Young Israel of Woodmere released a statement to its members after the incident.
"We want to inform you of a situation that took place this past Shabbos.  A person came to our shul building impersonating a police officer. Our YIW CSS security team, who are trained to be on the alert at all times, questioned this individual and the Police Dept. was contacted.
 
"We were informed that this person was arrested yesterday. You may read in the paper or hear on the news about this incident and we wanted to alert you about this.
 
"As always, safety and security are our priorities. We want to assure you that we take all precautions possible in safeguarding our shul and members."