Danbury Man Impersonated Cop, Threatened Business Owner: Police

DANBURY, CT — Police have charged a Danbury man with impersonating a police officer and intimidating a local business owner.

The business owner complained to police that Austin Merritt Nolan, of Kenosia Avenue, threatened him during the course of "hate-filled phone calls." Nolan accused him of dumping debris in Easton, and threatened him with "severe physical injury" and the destruction of his business equipment when he denied it, the business owner said.

"In doing so, his threatening comments were filled with derogatory ethnic remarks and hate speech related to the business owner's ethnicity," according to the police report.

In the course of the phone call, Nolan identified himself to the business owner as a Danbury police officer, officials said.

When law enforcement officials later spoke with Nolan on the phone, "he proceeded to be belligerent using foul language and derogatory comments about police officers," according to police.

On Monday, investigators were able to track Nolan down to a local hotel, where he was taken into custody.

Police charged Nolan with second-degree breach of peace, second-degree intimidation based on bigotry or bias, second-degree threatening, second-degree impersonation of a police officer, and second-degree harassment.