Ernie Redman and Josh Frankfurt scared the shit out of each other Saturday night while impersonating police officers. Redman, a 23 year old trying to impress buddies turned the corner on Addison only to run into Frankfurt, a 32 year old wondering if he would get more respect dressed as a cop. Both men immediately tried to act accordingly. Redman admits "I was scared shitless, I ran into him and I thought what the hell is he going to do to me, so I just tried to fake it." Witnesses report an awkward silence between the two for a stunning five minutes before Frankfurt found his voice. "I didn't know what to say, I mean it was all so quick, but I recovered fairly fast and asked how it was going."
The conversation escalated from there gradually becoming more detailed and intense. Both men created fabricated stories on the spot trying to fool the other one into thinking he was a real police officer. Redman was 26, he had been on the force for 8 years, worked in precinct 7, been shot twice and the worst thing he's seen on the street is a double murder during a routine drug bust. Frankfurt replied by saying, "that's nothing, I was working under cover and was involved in busting an underground organized crime ring, it got pretty bloody." Each listened intently to the other's story and intervened only to grimace or interject color comments such as, "really," "wow," and "right in the face."
The most disturbing part came when the two started to compare scars and began dismantling their uniforms right on the street so as to show the other. Redman, still "scared shitless," showed Frankfurt a scar on his left shoulder, claiming how a normal traffic stop turned into a near fatal knife fight. "In reality I got the scar from rolling off the top bunk and landing on a chair when I was 13," Redman revealed later. Frankfurt lifted up his shirt and showed a mark across his side, "I told Redman I got it from a bullet when I jumped in front of it for a fellow officer, but it's just a birthmark."
The incident showed no sign of ending until off duty officer, Ted Honing, decided it had gone on long enough, he approached the two and set them on the right page. "I just told the guys that neither of them was a cop, patted them on the shoulders and went home, nothing too drastic although that might have been fun." After Honing intervened, the two men smiled and went on their way. Frankfurt will supposedly never do this again, "it was the scariest experience of my life, I think this is it for me, my cop impersonating days are over, respect isn't worth that much."
