Facebook hoaxer angry at charge

Nick Keesing is in trouble for posing as a police officer on his Facebook page. Photo / Dean Purcell

A man has been charged with impersonating a police officer after he set up a false Facebook page using the details of two current officers - including the Deputy Commissioner - and messaged a woman claiming to be an internet cop.

But Auckland man Nick Keesing says police are "ridiculous" for charging him with impersonating a "virtual entity".

Mr Keesing allegedly set up a Facebook page in the name of a senior police officer whose name he found online. He told the Herald last night that he used an official police photograph of Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard as the profile picture.

Mr Keesing said he set up the page to "scare" a woman he believed was involved with methamphetamine. His friend's partner also claimed the woman, who Mr Keesing has never met, stole from her.

"I thought 'I'm going to give her a scare ... make her have a bad day'," he said. "So I went and got a photo of Deputy Commissioner Rickard and another guy who was something to do with online policing and made them into an entity, a construct.

"Whether it's a police officer or not, I don't think so. It's virtual, it's schizophrenic, it's two different people."

Mr Keesing said he contacted the woman through her Facebook page.

"Basically, I said I was the online police and we were coming for a hair test with Child, Youth and Family, and should you be positive we will have no option but to take your kid away until you are clear. Just to give her a good scare.

"She thought it was actually a rogue policeman from her meth trial a few years ago and contacted [police] internal affairs. They did an investigation and found out it was me."

Mr Keesing said police visited his home with a search warrant for his computers. They arrested him and charged him with falsifying a Facebook profile to lead a person to believe that he was a police employee by assuming the name of an officer, court documents show.

"I'm pleading not guilty to this. My lawyer wants to take it back and get me recharged under misuse of a document, which is an appropriate charge."

The officer in charge did not return calls yesterday.

Mr Keesing said the charge should not be used for the virtual world.

He admitted setting up the profile was a "stupid" thing to do. "But sometimes you just get carried away."