Jeremy Dewitte is such a habitual police impersonator, entire websites are dedicated to tracking his activities. He’s also a convicted sex offender, but that’s beside the point.
YouTube is littered with videos of his escapades. Even Dr. Phil knows about him.
But he got a break in Chicago.
Prosecutors here have dropped all counts against Dewitte who was facing assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal damage to property charges in connection with a July 2019 incident in Lakeview.
Police on that summery afternoon responded to a parking lot in the 3200 block of North Wilton where a tow truck driver said Dewitte unleashed a torrent of metal deck chairs on him from an fourth-floor apartment balcony as the victim prepared to tow Dewitte’s SUV.
Dewitte, 40, reportedly went down to the parking lot and then threw one of the previously-tossed chairs at the tow driver again. He missed, police said. Then, he threatened to get a pistol, the tow truck driver alleged.
More than 20 minutes of CPD body camera footage documenting the scene — including Dewitte’s claim of being a “state-certified federal agent” — later emerged online.
But, now, Cook County prosecutors have dropped the entire matter, court records show. Things have not been going nearly as well for Dewitte elsewhere.
According to online reports, he was charged with impersonating a police officer three times in the last three months of 2019.
One video shows Dewitte zooming around Florida on a police-style motorcycle, lights and siren activated. Even when real police are blocking traffic to handle an incident, Dewitte cruises through the scene as if he owns the place.
In Orlando, Dewitte was accused of reaching for his gun while fighting with a real deputy as Dewitte impersonated an officer to direct traffic for a funeral, according to local news reports.
But he has nothing to worry about in Chicago. Even though he claimed to be an agent and confirmed to a CPD sergeant that he was a police officer, he was never charged with impersonating a cop here. And, for reasons that are not clear in the court record, all other charges connected to the Lakeview case have been tossed out.