Bizarre officer impersonator tries to arrest bartender
A man accused of pretending to be a Norman police officer has been arrested and charged after allegedly trying to arrest a bartender.
Posted — UpdatedTaylor Hansmeyer was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer.
It happened at the El Chico Café inside the Sooner Mall. Hansmeyer, an employee at the mall, was drinking tequila at the bar.
Employees said he looked and was acting normally, until he started giving the bartender a hard time for not checking his I.D.
Then, police said he took the questioning further, claiming to be an undercover officer.
"He made some statements regarding the fact that he was an undercover cop, why didn't she I.D. him, he was working on an undercover project," Sarah Jensen with the Norman Police Department said.
According to the affidavit, he threatened to arrest her and several others at the bar.
The restaurant owner declined to go on camera but told News 4 that Hansmeyer even called him on his cell phone several times, giving him a fake badge number and telling him the bartender could be in trouble.
Hansmeyer left the bar, but returned a short time later, this time with handcuffs.
The bartender told police he grabbed her by the arm.
"According to the victim, had tried to put her into handcuffs," Jensen said.
Her coworkers and management wouldn't let him cuff her or take her away, at which point he left and they called the police.
"Typically in the past, when we've seen an individual impersonating an officer, it's been more on a traffic stop or something of that nature," Jensen said.
When police arrested him at his home later that night, Hansmeyer said he just told the bartender he was a correctional officer.
"He denied physically trying to assault the victim by putting her in handcuffs," Jensen said.
News 4 tried to track him down at his home but he wasn't there.
However, family told News 4 he was just flirting with the bartender.
Police said if you're ever suspicious of a person claiming to be an officer, always double check.
"Asking for a badge, asking for proper identification, and then of course calling authorities if it seems to not add up," Jensen said.
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