Well-known actor joining St. Anthony Police Dept. to fight child internet crime
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ST. ANTHONY — A well-known actor who played a police officer on TV is about to become a reserve police officer in Idaho.
Erik Estrada, who starred as highway patrol officer Frank Poncherello in the television series “CHiP’s,” is partnering with the St. Anthony Police Department to commemorate the department’s new Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
Estrada and his teammate, retired police officer Daryl Williams, will be sworn during a ceremony at St. Anthony City Hall at 11 a.m. July 2.
“We heard he was looking for a small jurisdiction in Idaho to partner with and we were the ones that were chosen,” St. Anthony Police Chief Terry Harris tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The task force is new for the police department and officers will focus on preventing children from cyber predators.
Estrada has worked a deputy sheriff in Virginia and a reserve police officer in Indiana, according to CBS News.
“I actually became a deputy sheriff in Virginia and I am an investigator with ICAT (Internet Crimes Against Children) because I saw child porn,” Estrada said during an interview in 2008. “I went out of my mind and I said that something has to be done.”
Estrada will sign autographs and take photos with fans following the swearing-in ceremony. He’ll hold another meet-and-greet session on Sunday, July 3, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, according to a news release.
The public is invited to the free events.