A convicted felon in Washington has been charged with impersonating a police officer following various emergency calls, with officials noting a “significant amount of police equipment” in his possession.
Michael Scaletta-Teates showed up at an active police scene in Bremerton, Washington, on September 5, dressed in a dark uniform with a metallic badge from the Edmonds police department and a tactical vest that displayed “police” and “SWAT” patches, according to the Bremerton Police.
“At first, I thought you were one of our detectives,” a Bremerton police officer remarked to Scaletta-Teates, as seen in police bodycam footage.
During his arrest, Scaletta-Teates claimed he knew members of a local task force. He had responded to calls about potential trespassing or fires in parking garages.
However, police quickly became suspicious. Scaletta-Teates was driving an unmarked Ford Explorer without activated blue lights and claimed to be an officer at the Edmonds Police Department—a position he didn’t hold—while also saying he worked as a part-time security guard.
When pressed for identification, he failed to introduce himself as “Messie Scaletta” and couldn’t provide a police commission card, which law enforcement officers carry. Officers reached out to the Edmonds Police Department, who confirmed they had no record of him and insisted he would never have worked there.
While in custody, Scaletta-Teates questioned the situation, asking, “Does it really make sense?” Police then noted other suspicious items in his vehicle, including a firefighter helmet, implying he might be pretending to occupy various respectable roles.
Bodycam footage captured Scaletta-Teates stating he left the Baltimore Police Department two decades prior and had moved to Washington for a job.
He has been booked at the Kitsap County Jail on charges of first-degree criminal impersonation and illegal possession of a firearm. This isn’t his first run-in with the law—back in January 2016, he was convicted of making a bomb threat in North Carolina, which resulted in 185 days in prison.
Despite his felony record, Scaletta-Teates had been working as a security guard prior to his arrest, although it was reportedly challenging for him to be among people. According to a local shelter, he had expressed fear to others, advising them to walk silently past him.
He was also filmed responding to another emergency police call at a 7-Eleven, where he allegedly identified himself as a police officer to customers.
