Haddon Twp. Man Allegedly Posed as County Cop in Shakedown

A Haddon Township man who authorities say posed as a police officer to shake down a pedestrian in Camden City has been arrested on charges of official misconduct and robbery.

Richard Dayton, 45, is a retired Camden City police officer and current civilian employee of the Camden County Police Department. 

According to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, Dayton, who is a fleet manager for the metro division, used his access to police equipment to rob a pedestrian at 9th and Ferry Avenues in Camden City on Tuesday morning.

At 10:20 a.m., Dayton allegedly showed a police radio and badge to a pedestrian he then robbed, and fled in a pickup truck belonging to the Camden County Police Department. 

Prosecutors say that there is both video evidence and eyewitness testimony corroborating the incident, and that "law enforcement has received information indicating he may be responsible for similar incidents within the past week."

“We hold every employee, including our civilians, to the highest standards of integrity,” Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson said in a statement. 

“Behavior that undermines the public’s trust has no place in policing and is not tolerated in our department.”

Authorities point out that although Dayton was a former policeman in the city, he retired in 2005 on a disability pension and is not currently a sworn officer. 

According to a LinkedIn profile that seems to belong to Dayton, he was a Collingswood High School graduate who worked as a federal drug task force detective, specializing in covert surveillance and background investigation.

Dayton has been suspended without pay from his job with the intent to dismiss, and is being held on $50,000 bail. An arrest is not a conviction.