A man who allegedly posed as a police officer during last year’s UK riots has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud and is awaiting more charges. “Inspector Winter,” whose Twitter account is still available here, claimed to be a plainclothes inspector who had been on the force for 15 years. In August of 2011, he gained fame for his Twitter and blog dispatches and wrote a column for The Telegraph, describing 125 hours of work, “too many of them being pelted by stones, petrol bombs and, in one case, in the chaos of it all, by a 4-foot ornamental palm tree.” At one point, he passed through a police cordon and allegedly gave someone a ride in his official capacity.
Blogger who posed as UK policeman during riots faces charges
Ellis Ward, who allegedly posed as a police officer both online and off has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud and is facing more charges relating to his impersonation.
Ellis Ward, who allegedly posed as a police officer both online and off has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud and is facing more charges relating to his impersonation.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Unfortunately, no such officer existed. Instead, “Winter” was actually Ellis Ward, a conman wanted for fraud in Wiltshire. Ward was arrested in February on suspicion of impersonating a police officer; he’s now facing those charges as well as a count of kidnapping for giving the aforementioned ride while posing as an officer. Meanwhile, The Guardian has dug into Ward’s media appearances, including a quote he gave for one of their own articles.
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