Sex offender charged with impersonating police officer

STRATFORD — A sex offender convicted of falsely claiming police brutality has been charged with impersonating a cop.

Edward Minerly, 59, served six years in prison in the 1990s for sexual assault convictions involving 6- and 9-year-old victims. He is on the state’s sex offender registry.

Since then, he pleaded no contest to a 2013 Derby arson and admitted to falsely filing a complaint with the FBI accusing Derby cops of brutality.

He appeared briefly at Superior Court in Milford Wednesday, where he faces probation violation charges connected to the arson case — for which he owes up to 10 years of suspended jail time if found guilty.

According to a warrant, Stratford cops were sent to a construction site at Boston and Bruce avenues Aug. 25 because there was a person standing in the road directing traffic with a T-shirt that said “POLICE” on the back.

Police said they identified the person as Minerly, who was also allegedly wearing a “police duty belt” with scanner and a silver badge that said “Security Enforcement Officer” and “Liberty & Justice For All.”

According to the warrant, Minerly told cops the shirt was an “old Fire Department shirt” and he would take it off if they wanted, but he “did not have any excuse as to why he was wearing the duty belt and badge,” according to the report.

Minerly’s record includes several felony and misdemeanor convictions and arrests, including impersonating a police officer, as well as a 2008 second-degree forgery conviction for using a fake name while trying to become a Shelton firefighter.

The impersonating a police officer charge is a

Class D Felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

He faces double that time on the probation violation, a prosecutor said in court Wednesday.

“Mr. Minerly owes 10 years,” Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard Stein said. “He is in need of legal counsel.”

Judge Peter Brown gave Minerly until Dec. 14 to return to court with a lawyer.

“Works for me,” Minerly said.

A message was left for Minerly after his appearance in court Wednesday.

He is free after posting $20,000 bond in the case.

The arson charge stems from a March 22, 2013, fire Minerly was accused of setting in his Main Street, Derby, apartment.

A prosecutor in that case said Minerly’s motive for setting the fire was simple — he was unhappy with the subsidized housing he was living in and wanted to move.