He wanted a free hotel room. Phoenix police say he posed as a cop

A Chandler man is suspected of attempting to pressure a hotel receptionist to provide him with a free room in Phoenix while posing as a Mesa police officer, court documents said.

Phoenix police arrested Nicholas Grayson Calfy, 30, in the early morning of Sept. 2, after police received several calls from hotel clerks reporting the man, documents said. He faces charges of criminal impersonation, a class 6 felony, according to court records.

Calfy had previously been convicted for trespassing, criminal damage and possession of dangerous drugs, court records said. He was also convicted of animal cruelty for repeatedly kicking a 6-week-old kitten until it suffered head trauma and tremors in 2019, according to documents and previous Arizona Republic reporting.

At about 6:30 p.m. the day prior in this most recent incident, Calfy walked into the Fairfield Inn and Suites along Ray Road and 50th Street wearing a "black plate carrier with the words police on it" that had a cloth police badge, court documents said.

He had a gun in a holster on his hip, which police later recognized as a BB gun, court records said.

Calfy stated he was a Mesa police officer, a hotel clerk told investigators.

He said he needed a room for a domestic violence victim and demanded the room free of charge, according to the clerk. He told the clerk his boss was "angry with him about not getting the room comped," court documents said.

A woman entered the lobby area with a dog and kept her head down, the clerk told investigators.

The clerk believed Calfy was impersonating a police officer, because "his disheveled look and his teeth were in bad condition," according to court documents. Calfy also had control of the pet, which the clerk found "odd if he had just met the dog."

Calfy and the woman left after the clerk refused to give them a room, but the woman left behind her luggage, court documents said.

The clerk called Phoenix police to report the behavior. A second clerk at a neighboring hotel reported about 30 minutes later that Calfy was refusing to leave the property, police said.

Officers responded, but he had left before their arrival.

Calfy and the woman returned to the Fairfield Inn to retrieve the luggage they left behind, and the manager called officers.

Officers were able to apprehend Calfy as he was leaving in a car, court documents said.

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Calfy "admitted to wearing the police vest and gun but denied ever saying he was a police officer," he told investigators.

The woman with Calfy told officers he had her pretend to be a domestic violence victim and he would pose as an officer to get a free room, according to court records.

Calfy was wearing a hat with the words "Chandler FD cadets" printed on it when officers confronted him, court documents said. Officers found a shirt that said Sheriff's Department in the vehicle and retrieved the BB gun. Police also obtained video footage of Calfy and the woman, according to court documents.

Calfy stated he left behind the police gear in a Tempe hotel room with a friend, court documents said.

Court records show Calfy was booked into a Maricopa County jail on a $15,000 bond.

Calfy made his initial court appearance on Sept. 2, where he pushed back on the charges and the bond.

"I never verbally told anyone I was a police officer. I never tried to obtain a hotel room for free. That sounds absurd," Calfy told Judge Lindsay Huckaby at his court appearance.

He also stated his gear was for airsoft "cosplay." Calfy argued he didn't understand why he was being held when he "cooperated with the police" and did everything he was told to do.

Huckaby noted his past five convictions and the probable cause laid out was the reason for the $15,000 bond.

Calfy was due back in court on Sept. 21.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: He wanted a free hotel room. Phoenix police say he posed as a cop