New Kensington constable accused of impersonating police officer
A constable in Westmoreland County is accused of impersonating a police officer.
In May, Herman Staple II was pulled over by a New Kensington Police Department officer near the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Freeport Street because he was driving a black Chevy Tahoe decked out to look like a police vehicle. Officials said the vehicle was complete with blue, red and yellow lights, tinted windows, an interior laptop mount and cameras, and a logo on the rear tailgate that read "police."
Staple claimed to be a retired Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officer. The problem was that Staple was not a police officer, not then or ever. Staple was a constable and a member of the New Kensington Fire Police.
The fire police aid the fire department during a fire with things like traffic and crowd control. A constable is a bit more involved.
According to the Pennsylvania State Constable website, a constable is an elected or appointed law enforcement officer who has the authority in Pennsylvania to arrest by warrant and serve warrants anywhere in the Commonwealth. They also have the power to conduct warrantless arrests for felonies and breaches of the peace committed in their presence. But nowhere does it say that they can act as a police officer.
Staple was arrested for presenting himself as such, and police seized a loaded 9mm handgun from him at the time of the arrest.
But just last month, unrelated to Staple's impersonation of a police officer, he had a protection-from-abuse order placed against him. He was required to turn over all of the firearms in his possession to the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office, but he didn't.
"At the time of the PFA service, some firearms were relinquished," said Jennifer Shipley, chief deputy with the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Department. "But after the fact, our investigation indicated that additional firearms existed."
What the sheriff's found when they searched Staple's house was a trove of guns and ammunition. Some guns were hidden in the house, and some were even ghost guns.
"Due to him failing to comply with the protection from abuse order, he was charged with a contempt for violating that court order and then additional charges as well for the possession of the firearms," Shipley said.
As of Thursday morning, Staple was released from the Westmoreland County Prison on bail. His preliminary hearing for the gun charges, as well as his formal arraignment for impersonating a police officer, will both be held later this month.
