A 21-year-old Matteson man was charged with impersonating a police officer and illegally possessing a firearm near a protest in the Loop on Thursday evening, Chicago police said. Willie Mathews Jr. was detained around 5:10 p.m. in the 200 block of South Michigan Avenue.
Police reported that Mathews was observed unlawfully wearing police identifiers, and, upon taking him into custody, officers recovered a firearm from him.
It was unclear if Matthews was in the loop for the protest or simply happened to be in the area, which was densely populated with actual police officers assigned to handle it.
Mathews is set to appear in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Sunday afternoon, where prosecutors are anticipated to present additional information regarding the charges.
