Published: January 07, 2009 11:39 pm         

City councilman refutes complaint

Turk Roman says accusation of impersonating police officer is ‘baloney’

TERRE HAUTE — A city councilman accused of impersonating a police officer calls the complaint “baloney” and encourages the investigation to run its course.

“I don’t know what he’s saying but I’m not going to worry too much about it,” Turk Roman, D-2nd, said Wednesday afternoon before speaking to police about a complaint filed against him. “I’d be happy to answer [the complaint] and confront him,” he said.

Later Wednesday evening, Roman called the complaint “baloney” and said if he weren’t a city councilman it would be a non-issue.

Terre Haute police Chief John Plasse acknowledged Wednesday that a citizen filed a complaint against Roman, accusing the councilman of impersonating a police officer.

Detective Troy Davis declined to disclose the complainant’s name or a copy of the report, saying the matter is still under investigation.

“There has been an allegation and it’s being investigated. We’ll just have to present things to the prosecutor when we’re done with the investigation,” he said, unsure when that will occur.

Roman said the incident occurred the afternoon of Dec. 18 on Wabash Avenue when a vehicle cut him off before pulling into Taco Bell.

Roman turned around in the parking lot of nearby Pizza Hut and followed the driver and his passenger into Taco Bell, where he confronted them and threatened to call the police.

“I don’t know how that jibes with his story but that’s not the case,” he said in response to the impersonation charge. “Never did I say I was a policeman.”

Roman said the speed at which he was cut off “scared the life out of me” and described the driver and his passenger as “good-sized men” and belligerent.

“I told him what my name was,” Roman said, explaining he showed the driver his City Council badge and identified himself as a member before asking to see the driver’s license and threatening to call the police. “He admitted he whipped out in front of me.”

Roman said the two discussed the issue but the driver refused to show him his driver’s license, but upon learning that he knew the driver’s uncle they decided to drop the matter.

Plasse said the matter would come down to “what was said between the two parties” regarding the impersonation charge.

“It’s kind of like a kid getting his hand caught in the cookie jar,” Roman said of what he called the complainant’s defensiveness. “It’s baloney.”

Roman said he doesn’t want people thinking he’d use his political position to avoid an investigation and noted it should run its course.

“I’m not going to go through that,” he said, describing it as “just part of public life.”