5 Celebrity Police Officers

A lot of actors have played cops on TV, but these celebs really are the law in real life
By Margeaux Klein,  Newser User
Posted Aug 7, 2016 2:03 PM CDT
5 Celebrity Police Officers
FILE - This Dec. 8, 2005 file photo provided by the Miami Beach, Fla. Police Department shows then Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal being sworn in as a reserve police officer in Miami Beach.   (AP Photo/Miami Beach Police Department, File)

Former CHiPs star Erik Estrada recently became a reserve police officer in the tiny town of St. Anthony, Idaho, reports the Idaho State Journal. But the actor, who famously played a motorcycle cop on the '80s TV show, is hardly the first celebrity to add "real life cop" to his résumé:

  1. Mark Wahlberg: The 45-year-old actor, who has played a cop in movies like The Departed, We Own The Night, and The Other Guys, surprised fans in 2014 when he requested a pardon on a felony assault conviction that he received in 1988, so that he could pursue a position as a reserve officer for the LAPD.
  2. Steven Seagal: The actor combined his love of law enforcement with his on-camera charisma in Steven Seagal: Lawman, a 2009 reality show that documented his adventures as a reserve deputy sheriff in Louisiana and Arizona.
  3. Geraldo Rivera: Before entering law school in his early twenties, the lawyer-turned-journalist had a brief career in law enforcement as an NYPD investigator.
  4. Shaquille O'Neal: Although the basketball superstar was most recently sworn in as a reserve police officer in Doral, Fla., in 2015, Shaq has had a long, sideline career as a cop, having previously served as a reserve officer in Miami Beach, Golden Beach, Tempe, and the Port of Los Angeles.
Click to read about other famous police officers at Ranker.com. (More police officers stories.)

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