Licensed KS bail enforcer who posed as Wichita police officer while drunk is sentenced
A licensed bail enforcement agent caught impersonating a police officer in Wichita while drunk last year will spend at least a year on probation.
Daniel J. Corrieri was arrested and charged with 10 misdemeanors after authorities say he pretended to be a law enforcement officer in Wichita, some evidence of which was caught on video on his own car’s dash camera.
In one instance, on April 9, 2020, he pulled his white Hyundai Elantra behind two teenagers working on a car outside of a local home, activated flashing lights in his own vehicle, identified himself as a Wichita police officer and told them to get out of the street while he held a gun at his side, according to an affidavit released in the case.
He was wearing body armor and a gun holster at the time and even gave the boys a fake badge number, the affidavit says.
Dash camera video from Corrieri’s car showed several other incidents in the days leading up to April 9, 2020, where Corrieri allegedly impersonated police by using lights and sirens in his car, showing a badge to a driver pulled on the side of a road, speeding and driving recklessly while using fake emergency signals and claiming he was an officer to citizens.
He also questioned two men in Harrison Park on April 9, 2020, and told them to “hand over” their identification, according to the affidavit.
Police arrested Corrieri after the man who lived at the home where the teens were working on the car followed Corrieri and called 911 because he didn’t think Corrieri was really an officer.
When police found Corrieri and his car at Harrison Park, Corrieri told officers he was working and also admitted to drinking alcohol that night, according to the affidavit. He was taken to jail after failing field sobriety tests and after police found lights, a loaded gun, a police siren and other items inside of his car.
The case prompted police last April to put out a public request for contact from anyone who was pulled over or approached by a man impersonating law enforcement.
Corrieri pleaded guilty earlier this summer to one count of driving under the influence and once count of false impersonation, court records show.
At his Aug. 12 sentencing, Sedgwick County District Judge Bruce Brown gave Corrieri a six-month jail term but suspended it and placed him on probation for a year, or until all conditions of his probation are met, court records show. He was also ordered to forfeit his gun, spend two days in the Wichita Intervention Program, attend a D.U.I. Victim Panel and pay a $1,000 fine that could be decreased to $750 “if probation is completed successfully,” plus other fees.
He must avoid using drugs or alcohol while on probation, attend substance abuse intervention meetings and find full-time employment. He also has been barred by the judge from working in bonding or fugitive apprehension.
A directory of Kansas bail enforcement agents posted online by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office still listed Corrieri as a licensed agent as of Aug. 20. His license expires in October, the list says.
