HF3404

Purpose

• The bill aims to strengthen laws about impersonating a peace officer. It adds penalties for impersonation, creates new rules about presenting as a peace officer while armed, and requires individuals who present as peace officers to identify themselves and their agency. It also updates how these impersonation actions interact with other crimes and with the use of police-like markings or vehicles.

Main Provisions

• Impersonating a Peace Officer (intent to mislead)

  • Offense is a misdemeanor when someone falsely impersonates a peace officer with the intent to make others think they are an officer. Penalty: up to 2 years in jail, or a fine up to $4,000, or both.

• Impersonation Involving Certain Acts (gross misdemeanor)

  • If the impersonation is used to gain access to a public building or government facility not open to the public, or to direct others, or to operate a vehicle marked with language or symbols implying law enforcement, or to use siren provisions, or to display law enforcement insignia and markings that a reasonable person would believe is a police vehicle, then the offense is a gross misdemeanor (up to 5 years in jail or up to $10,000 fine, or both).

• Felony for Prior Offenses or While Possessing a Firearm

  • If a person commits a violation of this section within five years of a previous violation, it can be charged as a felony (up to 10 years in jail or up to a $20,000 fine, or both).
  • If the violation is committed while the person is in possession of a firearm, it is a felony with the same or higher potential penalties (up to 10 years and up to $20,000, or both).

• Enhanced Penalties for Crimes Committed While Impersonating

  • If a person commits another crime while falsely impersonating a peace officer to mislead others:
  • If the underlying crime is a misdemeanor, the offender can be charged with a gross misdemeanor.
  • If the underlying crime is a gross misdemeanor, the offender can be charged with a felony and face up to 3 more years in jail and up to $15,000 more in fines (or both).
  • If the underlying crime is a felony, the maximum penalty for that underlying felony increases by up to five years.
  • These enhanced penalties apply in addition to any other applicable charges.

• Duty to Identify and Limitations on Impersonation

  • People presenting as peace officers must disclose the law enforcement agency or entity that employs them, their name, and their identification number when performing typical peace-officer duties (like stopping, detaining, arresting, serving warrants, or investigating).
  • Ways to satisfy identification requirements include:
  • Wearing a clearly identifying uniform with agency marks, or
  • Wearing gear that displays a badge, nameplate, or identification and the officer’s name/ID, or
  • Providing identification on request (or displaying a card with required information).
  • Those acting as peace officers must not identify as peace officers by wearing a uniform or equipment marked with the word “police” unless:
  • They are licensed by the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), or
  • They are an officer employed by a federally recognized tribe, or
  • They are an officer from another state or jurisdiction under mutual aid agreements or emergency management compacts, or similar arrangements.
  • Undercover peace officers are not required to reveal their identity unless detaining a person, arresting someone, or executing a warrant.
  • Violating the identification requirements is a misdemeanor unless the person is licensed or falls into one of the explicitly listed exceptions. Failure to identify does not make an arrest unlawful or suppress evidence.

• Miscellaneous Provisions

  • The bill moves and clarifies sections related to impersonation, law-enforcement markings, and identification, and references related concepts like vehicle markings, siren use, and how these interact with other sections of Minnesota law.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Creates new or enhanced penalties for impersonating a peace officer, including when:
  • The impersonation involves access to public buildings or vehicles, or use of law-enforcement insignia.
  • The impersonation is combined with possession of a firearm.
  • The impersonation occurs while committing another crime, leading to escalated charges (misdemeanor → gross misdemeanor → felony severity based on the underlying crime).
• Establishes a clear duty to identify for individuals presenting as peace officers, with specific requirements for how to display identification and under what circumstances identification must be provided.
• Introduces explicit exceptions for undercover officers and certain mutual-aid or tribal arrangements, balancing enforcement with safety and privacy considerations.
• Clarifies that failure to comply with identification rules does not automatically suppress evidence or make arrests unlawful, preserving investigative outcomes.

Relevant terms - impersonating a peace officer - misdemeanor - gross misdemeanor - felony - enhanced penalties - intent to mislead - law enforcement vehicle markings - uniform with markings - badge, nameplate, identification number - Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) - undercover peace officer - access to public buildings - sirens and signaling devices - possession of a firearm - prior violation within five years - mutual aid - emergency management assistance compact - tribal law enforcement - identification requirements