Police say Iowa City man was impersonating officer

An Iowa City man is accused of impersonating a police officer.

Iowa City police officers were called to The Union at 12:23 a.m. Sunday for a report of a subject dressed as a police officer checking IDs inside the bar. The real officers were taken to the VIP area of the bar, where they found a man wearing a dark blue police shirt, a duty belt with a replica revolver, a silver badge around his neck and old Iowa City Police Department patches on both of his shoulders.

Police identified the man as 41-year-old Carlos Escorcia. Escorcia allegedly told police his "Uncle Ben" had given him the patches, but he wouldn't provide officers with any more information on how they were obtained.

The shirt and duty belt were seized as evidence and Escorcia was arrested for impersonating a public official and public intoxication.