Former policeman Troy Barnes boasted of being an Australian Army impersonator

A former cop boasted about eating with Afghan warlords, jumping from planes and knowing characters depicted in a Hollywood film.

Former senior constable Troy Daniel Barnes facef 29 charges of impersonating military personnel and allegations that involved using images of two dead soldiers, a court has heard.

The 31-year-old Bradbury man, who resigned from his position with a NSW Police specialist command last September, was arrested at home on Christmas Eve when Professional Standard Command officers allegedly seized an Australian Army dress uniform and mobile phones.

The raid was made after the command started an investigation that led him to be charged with Commonwealth impersonation offences.

Court documents state Barnes falsely claimed to be a commando, an elite Australian Army combat veteran after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and that he showed a man footage of him claiming to be jumping from aeroplanes, including a Hercules, in Afghanistan.

Police said he falsely claimed to have eaten with Afghanistan warlords to arrange safe passage from one part of the country to another, witnessed the death of a woman carrying a child during crossfire in Afghanistan and that he was involved in helicopter crashes including in Shah Wali Kot.

Police said Barnes told a woman he knew several individuals depicted in war action film 12 Strong, while he also told her he was forced to change his phone number every six months because of security concerns that arose from him killing people in conflict.

A scene from 12 Strong. Picture: Supplied by Roadshow Films.

Police allege Barnes showed a man footage of a firefight which led to the death of an Afghan national, allegedly claiming it was him in the conflict.

On other occasions, he claimed to be a member of the Commandos Hit Squad deployed in Afghanistan and that he showed a man night vision goggles which he used to fight, ambush and aid in the killing of the Taliban.

He produced a photo of an assault rifle and told a man it was the rifle he used in the war.

The court papers reveal that Barnes made false statements about serving Australia on three tours of Afghanistan.

The papers also say lied about being decorated with several medals.

Barnes was initially charged with eight counts of representing himself as a person having been conferred service medal and 21 counts of falsely representing to be a returned soldier/sailor/airman. The offences occurred at Sydney Olympic Park between January and September last year.

At Parramatta Local Court on July 9, Barnes pleaded guilty to representing self as person having been conferred service medal and five counts of falsely representing to be returned soldier/sailor/ airman.

He was convicted, fined $2500 and received an 18-month community correction order. Previous charges were withdrawn.

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