GUILDERLAND — In the midst of watching a film about renegade law enforcement, an off-duty Guilderland cop arrested a movie-goer for yelling and swearing at him.

Thomas M. Conroy, 50, of 357 Myrtle Ave., number 4, Albany, was ticketed on July 21, inside of Crossgates Mall at Regal Cinema 18, for disorderly conduct, using obscene language or gestures, a violation.

Conroy, whose occupation is listed on the arrest report as a Medicaid driver, was watching the movie Live Free or Die Hard and was sitting in front of Officer Michael Minette when the argument began.
According to the arrest report, Minette "accidentally hit the rear of [Conroy’s] chair while adjusting his feet." Conroy, the report says, is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds.
After Conroy’s chair was hit during the movie, he told Minette in a loud voice to "stop kicking my f--king chair," the report says. According to Guilderland Police Minette said "excuse me," but Conroy responded by using expletives in a loud voice.
When Minette then identified himself as a Guilderland Police officer, Conroy stated, "I don’t give a f--k who you are," the report says. Minette advised Conroy to keep his voice down because "patrons of the movie were now turned"causing a public inconvenience," and he called others officers to the scene, according to the arrest report, and Minette met them outside of the movie theater.
Guilderland Police say that Conroy was then arrested for disorderly conduct and that he admitted he was "acting inappropriate in the movie."

Guilderland Deputy Police Chief Carol Lawlor told The Enterprise this week that it is relatively uncommon, but off-duty officers do make arrests.
"It all depends on the situation," Lawlor said. The deputy chief cited several examples of what an off-duty officer could do, such as calling other officers to the scene, following a suspect, or making an arrest.

Lawlor said that it is standard procedure for an off-duty officer to identify himself as a police officer, and that Minette was following procedure.
However, Lawlor warned, "I would encourage people to ask for identification."

Guilderland Police officers carry badges and when they are off-duty they also carry identification cards, Lawlor said. Every identification card or badge has a two-digit badge number, which is used as a verification number for officers, she said.

The ID cards are the same ones issued to other town workers and they all have a photograph, name, position, and identification number. Larger police and enforcement agencies may have more than two-digit badge numbers, said Lawlor.

Lawlor stressed the importance of seeing identification when a person claims to be an officer, either on-duty or off, because, she said, of the possibility of someone impersonating an officer.
"We had someone in Tawasentha Park last week who was claiming to be a Guilderland Police officer," Lawlor concluded.

Impersonating a police officer is a felony offense in New York State.