A man has been arrested and charged with impersonating an officer and robbery after police say he went on a spray paint vandalizing spree and asked employees of a local dog groomer to "kill his dog" before fleeing with a box of donated dog toys.
Bercha Snyder, a 37-year-old Cleveland man, was wearing a Cleveland Police Department uniform when he was arrested while hiding behind a garage with two box cutters, spray paint and an orange tennis ball, police say.
Snyder began his spree at Style Mutts, a dog grooming business on Warren Road, when he burst into the shop and asked employees if they would kill his dog. A worker told him they would not, and asked him to leave. She told police that as he left, Snyder grabbed a box of donated box of dog treats and toys, intended for rescue dogs, and fled to the parking lot.
Pam Alerine, the store owner, followed him, eventually struggling with Snyder over the donation box.
“I said young man, you cannot take that,” said Alerine. “I worked so hard; taking things that weren’t his and I wasn’t gonna let him.”
Alerine told police he pointed a can of spray paint at her face and threatened to spray her. She refused to surrender the box, and Snyder proceeded to spray paint the back of her 2009 Kia.
From there, police reported that Snyder painted the window of Affordable Florals, a florist shop on Triskett Road, before he was seen running through traffic, vandalizing cars with the paint.
When police arrived, Snyder fled through yards on Warren Road, where he was arrested behind a garage.
"You can't arrest me," Snyder purportedly told police. "All of I got was that tennis ball."
Upon searching Snyder, police say they found two box cutters, the tennis ball and a bag with black spray paint inside it. He was wearing police pants and a CPD shirt with badge number #220 emblazoned on it.
Snyder is being held in a Cleveland jail on charges of impersonating an officer and robbery.
