False Personation Charges

If you want evidence that people no longer see the world in terms of clearly defined good guys and bad guys, look at popular culture marketed toward young people. Antiheroes rule the day, everywhere from superhero movies to pro wrestling. Batman, even in his gravelly voiced permutation in the Lego Batman Movie, has always been a Byronic hero. This year, young boys were as likely to dress as Venom for Halloween as they were to dress as Spiderman. Despite this, the police officer costumes are among the most popular items in the dress up boxes in preschool classrooms. Did you know that, as an adult, you can get criminal charges for wearing a police uniform if you are not a police officer, or for otherwise impersonating a public official? As with so many things in this world, context is everything, and if you get accused of impersonating an officer, your defense strategy could rest on arguing that the context in which you pretended to be a law enforcement officer was perfectly appropriate and legal. Here, our Miami criminal defense lawyer explains the laws about impersonating a police officer.

Penalties for Impersonating a Police Officer or Other Authority Figure

According to Florida law, it is against the law to impersonate a police officer when the goal of such an impersonation is to perform police work illegally or to commit a crime. The impersonation can include the use of police uniforms or badges, as well as vehicles modified to look like police cruisers. The penalties vary according to what the defendant was trying to accomplish to impersonate a cop. If your goal is simply to engage in police work, even though you never got accepted to the police academy, the false personation is a first-degree misdemeanor. If your goal in impersonating a cop was to commit a felony, then you get an additional first-degree felony charge for impersonating an officer.

For example, first-degree felony charges apply if, while wearing a police uniform, you tell your neighbor that you want to buy drugs, and he promises to get you into contact with his drug dealer. You assure him that, even though you are a cop, you will not get his drug dealer in trouble with the law. Your neighbor gives you his drug dealer’s contact info and says that he will tell his drug dealer that you are trustworthy. When you meet the drug dealer in person, you are also wearing the police uniform. You show your badge to the drug dealer, and you both laugh before he sells you the drugs. Not only are you guilty of felony drug possession, but also of impersonating a police officer in furtherance of a felony.

False personation laws apply not only to law enforcement officers, but also to other public officials. For example, you would get felony charges if you wore a postal worker uniform while tampering with your neighbors’ mail.

When Is It Legal to Pretend to Be a Police Officer?

Wearing a police uniform when you are not a cop is not, by itself, a crime. Imagine that Joe and Bob both order police uniforms from Amazon. Joe goes to Dunkin and orders coffee and donuts. When he drops money in the tip jar, the cashier says, “Thanks.” Joe says, “Don’t you mean thanks, officer?” Joe has not committed a crime.

By contrast, Bob goes to a four-way stop in his neighborhood. He stands in the middle of the intersection and directs traffic. Because of his uniform, people assume that he is a cop and follow his instructions. Even though he does not cause an accident, and he may have even prevented one, he is guilty of false personation, because police officers have the right to direct traffic on public roads, but random people do not.

Former Miami-Dade Cop Arrested for Displaying Police Badge Under False Pretenses

Paul Fluty once had a storied career in law enforcement. In 2020, the Miami-Dade Police Department, now known as the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, gave him the Officer of the Year Award. In May 2025, though, he lost his job after testing positive for drugs. In September, he was arrested in Volusia County for showing his old police badge to a real police officer and claiming that he himself was a cop. He allegedly claimed to be on duty, investigating a case about a missing teenager.

Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys

A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for impersonating a police officer.  Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.

Source:

miaminewtimes.com/news/ex-miami-dade-officer-of-the-year-arrested-for-cosplaying-as-cop-40490328/