Cops: Retired officer menaced teen with gun

A retired Nassau police sergeant who pointed his gun at a teenage prankster Friday in Levittown is facing a menacing charge, police said.

James Mattimore, 61, of Levittown, was charged with second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor, and released on an appearance ticket, police spokesman Det. Michael Bitsko said.

Mattimore, who left the force in 2001, was arrested at his home.

Police said Mattimore confronted a 17-year-old boy shortly before noon Friday at a strip mall in Levittown, at 168 Center Lane.

The boy had placed a knapsack in front of Fred's Delicatessen, drawing Mattimore's attention, police said. The two argued over what the teen was doing with the bag.

"While they were going back and forth, the confrontation escalated and the defendant removed a gun from his waistband and ordered the victim to the ground," Bitsko said. "The defendant determined the bag was not suspicious and released the victim unharmed."

The teen later told police he was playing a prank on a friend -- the owner of the knapsack -- who was in a vehicle parked nearby.

Mattimore did not answer a call seeking comment. He is due in court April 16.

In a similar case last year, Nassau police Officer Richard Hefferon was arrested in June for pointing his loaded gun at a Farmingdale pub worker a month earlier.

The case is pending.