Cops: Lawrence man impersonated cop, made bogus 911 calls

A Lawrence man was arrested Tuesday in Inwood and charged with falsely reporting incidents to 911 -- including two where Nassau police said he claimed to be a police officer in need of assistance.

Steven Torres, 21, of 16 Lawrence Lane, was charged with one count of second-degree and two counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, as well as two counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, police said. He is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police said that on Sept. 18 at 2:05 p.m. Torres called 911 and identified himself as a Nassau police officer in need of assistance conducting a vehicle traffic stop in Lynbrook. Officers responded to the scene, but quickly determined the call was a hoax, police said.

Police said that on Oct. 13, Torres then called 911 at 3:56 p.m. to report a house fire in Cedarhurst. That also was determined to be false, police said.

On Nov. 14, Torres called 911 again, this time at 11:56 p.m., to claim he was an NYPD sergeant -- and reporting a shooting in Inwood, police said. That also proved to be false.

Police said a subsequent investigation led them to Torres, who was located on Burnside Avenue in Inwood and placed under arrest on Tuesday.