Afghan police officer who claimed harassment caught up in CIA impersonator allegations
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Police officer who filed complaints that he'd been harassed because he's Muslim and is now facing allegations he impersonated a CIA agent, is no longer with the department the department said on Thursday.
However, it's unclear if the officer was fired or quit. The issue of his credibility surfaced recently about a month after he accused the department of racism and harrassment.
Napa police launched an investigation five years ago into claims that this man pretended to be a spy in order to impress a woman, in a story first reported by Mission Local.
Last month, the rookie officer who was born in Afghanistan came forward in San Francisco after he filed a complaint that he had been subjected to harassment and racial prejudice by his fellow officers due to his background and faith. KTVU covered that story and agreed to protect his identity as a whistleblower.
Since that April 10 news conference at the office of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, this Napa police bulletin has surfaced from 2013, warning of a CIA agent impersonator. Police in that city tell a bizarre story-- that a man using the name Danny Costello met a woman on a dating website and convinced her and her family that he was a high level CIA agent. He had also claimed that he had been involved in the killing of Osama bin Laden and helped with the investigation into General David Patreus.
The bulletin warns that the man had applied to be an officer in San Francisco, Sacramento and at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
The officer’s attorney categorically denies any allegations that he impersonated a CIA agent, or that he claimed to kill bin Laden. His lawyer said at this point, he has not yet filed a lawsuit over the San Francisco claims and he is still continuing to investigate on his client’s behalf.
Meanwhile, San Francisco police did not comment beyond the department’s statement released last month saying the department is taking the allegations of harassment "very seriously."
In addition, KTVU confirmed with Oakland police that a cadet with the same name was dismissed from its recruitment class in 2015. OPD says because it is a personnel matter, they cannot say why he was released.