People have many different motivations for Impersonating a Police Officer. They wanted the power or they wanted to try to get away with something illegal, are both common responses when asked why they did it. But this man seems to have a completely new reason for why he pretended to be a police officer: to cut in line at the drive-thru. The man used a siren and flashlights on his car to skip the long fast food drive-thru line and skip right to the front. An off-duty police officer spotted this and followed the man back to his apartment where he admitted he wasn’t actually an officer. He also admitted to using the lights and siren to pass through traffic lights. The man is now facing Impersonating a Police Officer charges.
Impersonating a Peace Officer in Greeley
C.R.S. 18-8-112 – Impersonating a Peace Officer – is defined by Colorado law as:
Because the man used a siren and lights to get others to move out of his way, the same way an authorized police officer would, he meets the elements of this offense. In Greeley, Windsor, and Evans, Impersonating a Peace Officer is a class 6 felony, punishable with prison time in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Criminal Impersonation in Weld County
A similar crime to Impersonation of a Police Officer is Criminal Impersonation.
Colorado law defines C.R.S. 18-5-113 – Criminal Impersonation – as:
(a) Assumes a false or fictitious identity or legal capacity, and in such identity or capacity he or she:
(I) Marries, or pretends to marry, or to sustain the marriage relation toward another without the connivance of the latter;
(II) Becomes bail or surety for a party in an action or proceeding, civil or criminal, before a court or officer authorized to take the bail or surety; or
(III) Confesses a judgment, or subscribes, verifies, publishes, acknowledges, or proves a written instrument which by law may be recorded, with the intent that the same may be delivered as true; or
(b) Assumes a false or fictitious identity or capacity, legal or other, and in such identity or capacity he or she:
(I) Performs an act that, if done by the person falsely impersonated, might subject such person to an action or special proceeding, civil or criminal, or to liability, charge, forfeiture, or penalty; or
(II) Performs any other act with intent to unlawfully gain a benefit for himself, herself, or another or to injure or defraud another.
Basically, Criminal Impersonation is pretending to be another person (either real or fictitious) and doing an act to make that person responsible for your actions or to benefit yourself at someone else’s expense. Similar to Impersonating a Police Officer, Criminal Impersonation is a class 6 felony in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Impersonating a Peace Officer or Criminal Impersonation, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at (970) 616-6009 to set up a free consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
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