It’s more than playing dress up.

Using a law enforcement badge or flashing blue lights for personal gain is a felony and dangerous to the public because the imposter is abusing the trust reserved for law enforcement officers, St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said.

“The citizens hold in high regard people in law enforcement,” Mascara said. “More than 90 percent of the public when they receive a command from a law enforcement officer will abide by the commands and wishes. That’s a tremendous amount of trust.”

A review of records from Treasure Coast law enforcement agencies shows each year agencies get a handful of cases involving impersonating law enforcement officers. But local law enforcement officials said they are concerned with recent cases, where a person not in uniform claimed to be a federal agent, because they could cause the public to question the commands given by legitimate officers.

“Unfortunately, it is not a heavily regulated system. Anyone can purchase a military (style gun) magazine and fake badge for their own gain,” said Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Detective Joe Parrish.

The reasons, Parrish and Mascara said, for impersonating law enforcement vary from people who want to be an officer but can’t because they have a felony record, or those who want power.

Last weekend, John Michael Wallace, 38, learned the seriousness of the crime when he told a St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputy he was an undercover Secret Service agent at the U.S. Navy SEAL Museum, according to the arrest report. Wallace told deputies he was helping with security, later became belligerent, and pushed his fingers into the chest of a deputy who had asked to see his identification, the report states.

Just last month, William Andrew McCann identified himself as a federal agent with the Department of Homeland Security, duping Indian River County Sheriff’s deputies and Indian River County Fire Rescue officials into getting access to the scene of a liquid oxygen leak near the headquarters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, an Indian River County Sheriff’s office arrest report states. McCann didn’t stop there, and days later went to an elementary school — wearing a loaded gun and claiming to be a federal agent — where he later was arrested by Parrish.

Though those two cases ended without physical harm to the public, sometimes the imposter is looking for information.

“They (impersonators) endanger personal safety and ask for personal information that could be used in economic crimes,” said Rhonda Irons, spokeswoman for Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

In most cases, when a law enforcement officer stops someone and asks for identification, they want to see a driver’s license and proof of insurance, and won’t ask for a Social Security number, said Fort Pierce Police Department Sgt. Dennis McWilliams.

However, if a law enforcement officer asks for a Social Security number, it is because the person doesn’t have picture identification, McWilliams said.

When a person feels uncomfortable about being stopped by someone appearing to be a law enforcement officer, the person can ask for a supervisor to come to the scene.

“It’s not something that is unreasonable for a citizen to request,” Mascara said.

Here are sometips if someone not wearing a law enforcement uniform stops you:

•Call 911 and give your location and tell your concerns. The dispatcher will be able to verify the person is a law enforcement officer. The caller can say, “I’m being pulled over. I’m not trying to evade the officer but I will pull over at a secure location.”

•Drive the posted speed limit and stop in a secure, well-lit location.

•Ask the person for identification. Besides a badge, law enforcement officers carry an identification card with the officer’s name and signature of the police chief or sheriff.

•Also, 911 can be called to verify if an out-of-state law enforcement officer stops you. The proper procedure is for any non-local law enforcement officer, including federal agents, to notify local law enforcement agencies whenever they are in their jurisdiction.

•Be polite and courteous and follow the person’s instructions. In rare cases, officers could ask for a Social Security number if the person doesn’t have a driver’s license, state identification card or passport.

Fort Pierce Police Department, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

OTHER CASES

October 2008: Steven D. Wakefield, 21, of the 1000 block of John MacCormack Terrace told Port St. Lucie Police officers he was an undercover cop waiting for someone with 7 pounds of “crip weed.”

December 2007: Henry G. Kalinowski, 47, tried to use a fake police badge to get out of a speeding ticket. Kalinowski told Sebastian Police officers he was a retired New York cop with 20 years experience and to let him go and show “brotherhood courtesy.” However, the officer found a loaded .25 caliber handgun in Kalinowski’s waist and an Altoids container filled with cocaine.

August 2002: Marietta, Ga., resident Elena I. Manauzzi, 37, was charged with imitating a patrol car when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 95 at Okeechobee Road in Fort Pierce saw her 1995 Chevrolet painted tan and black, resembling FHP squad cars. Also, the trooper noticed traffic moving out of the Chevrolet’s lane when it approached from the rear. The woman denied using spray paint to temporarily change the car’s appearance.

By Keona Gardner, TCPalm.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 10:46 am and is filed under Courts, Crime, Fort Pierce, Hobe Sound, Indian River County, Jensen Beach, Martin County, Okeechobee, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Sebastian, St. Lucie County, Stuart, Weird News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.