GRESHAM MAN ARRESTED FOR IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER
Posted: June 6th, 2011 5:54 PM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2011-06/1278/45163/Goff.bmp
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2011
CONTACT PERSON: Officer John Rasmussen, Public Information Officer
CASE NUMBER: 11-706059
In the early morning hours of June 5, Gresham Police arrested 29-year-old Darren Dean Goff of Gresham for impersonating a police officer and numerous other charges after he made a series of very poor and criminal decisions stemming from an apparent road-rage incident.
At 1:42 a.m., officers were dispatched to the intersection of SE 181st Avenue and SE Stephens Street in Gresham on the report of two men fighting. Arriving officers were told that one party possibly had a gun and was heard threatening to taser the other party. Officers contacted Goff as he was walking toward his Chrysler sedan, away from 19-year-old Jeremy Newman of Damascus, Ore. Newman was holding onto the roof rack of his SUV, with his arms and legs extended and separated, in a "pat-down" stance.
After talking with both parties, as well as a witness who called 911, officers were able to determine that Goff had violated numerous laws in his declared attempt to scare Newman into driving more carefully. Police investigation revealed that a relatively short time before the 911 call, Newman left an establishment in the 18300 block of SE Stark Street. While leaving, he and Goff may have had some sort of negative interaction where Goff perceived that Newman cut in front of him. Goff then followed Newman west on SE Stark Street and south through numerous residential streets as Newman tried to lose Goff. Near the intersection of SE 181st Avenue and SE Stephens Street, Goff flashed his headlights and sped around Newman. He stopped abruptly which forced Newman to stop too.
Goff jumped out of his vehicle and approached Newman who was still seated in his SUV, ordering Newman to get out of the car and to "show" his hands. Goff then pulled Newman from the vehicle and ordered him to put his hands on the car and to separate his feet. Stating he was a police officer, Goff frisked Newman and took his wallet which contained his state identification. At one point, Goff stated that he would use a taser on Newman if Newman did not comply. All the while, Newman could hear the sounds of a police radio coming from Goff and Goff pretended to use a device to call for "backup." Unknown to Newman at the time, the device was really Goff's iPhone that was enabled with a police scanner application. Unknown to Goff, witnesses had called the real police.
Newman was shaken by the incident but not injured. Goff was arrested and booked at the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Criminal Impersonation, Coercion, Kidnap II, Robbery II, Robbery III, Disorderly Conduct II and Menacing. Goff was not actually armed at the time and there is no indication that he has engaged in this type of behavior before. He is not currently under investigation for any other case.
This type of incident is very rare and the public should not be overly alarmed. Dependent on time and place, if a citizen is unsure if the person attempting to pull them over is an actual police officer they can always call 911 and drive at normal or slower speeds to a well-lit location.
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