COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man lied and said he was a firefighter when police pulled his car over in Jefferson Park Saturday night, prosecutors said.
Daniel Shafranski, 44, was charged with impersonating a firefighter, a felony. He also was given two driving-related tickets.
About 9:55 p.m. Saturday, Shafranski was driving a black Nissan south on North Central Avenue when he began to drift into the lanes of a police squad car, nearly hitting the officers, according to a police arrest report and prosecutors.
According to the report, when police pulled him over in the 5100 block of North Central Avenue and asked for his driver's license and proof of insurance, Shafranski showed them a red Chicago Fire Department uniform badge and said, "I'm a Chicago fireman. What's the problem?"
Police didn't believe him and asked for identification, Assistant State's Attorney Jacqueline Kwilos said during a bail hearing Sunday.
Shafranski couldn't show them a Fire Department ID but told officers he worked at the firehouse near Belmont and Cicero avenues, according to the report.
When police called the firehouse, they were told that Shafranski didn't work there or at any other firehouse in the city, Kwilos said.
Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered Shafranski, of the 5800 block of West Peterson Avenue, held on $5,000 bail.
