SUSPECT ARREST: Woman Claimed To Be Officer

A Des Moines woman is in the Polk County Jail after police say she impersonated an officer while trying to get away with shoplifting.

Thirty-six-year-old Danielle Shaffer is charged with second degree theft and impersonating a public official. She is being held on a bond of $7,000.

A police report says Shaffer flashed a police badge to Wal-Mart employees who stopped her outside of a south Des Moines store Sunday. Shaffer was accused of putting items into bags she had taken into the store and didn’t pay for them when she left.

Police say she took an employees walkie talkie while in the store so she could monitor the store’s security and make sure they weren’t watching her.

According to police, Shaffer stole $1,108.34 worth of merchandise that included mostly clothes and DVDs.

The badge Shaffer flashed was from Bussey Police. There hasn’t been a police force in Bussey for more than seven years.