Maple Grove Lawmaker Wants to Make Police Impersonation a Felony
Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were gunned down in their Brooklyn Park home by an assassin impersonating a police officer in June.
Sen. John Hoffman and wife Yvette were also seriously injured in what prosecutors call a “politically-motivated attack,” where the shooter traveled from target-to-target in a mock police vehicle while dressed in tactical gear.
In the fallout, some lawmakers are reconsidering the penalties for impersonating a peace officer.
The attacks are “causing us to look at this proposal or this statute a little more clearly,” said Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, in an interview with CCX News.
Limmer is a ranking minority member on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
Under existing law, impersonating a peace officer is a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor. Per state statute, it can only be charged as a felony if the perpetrator is caught impersonating an officer two or more times within five years.
Limmer says it’s time for a harsher penalty.
“I think it’s time that the legislature must address this issue,” he said. “And a felony is the least we can do in classifying it, especially if that individual commits a crime.”
He’s concerned about the impact the crime can have on community trust in police.
“This really erodes the trust of the public in law enforcement. They begin to question and second-guess, ‘should I call police?’ When a police officer approaches them, they’re going to be asking questions ‘is this guy real?'” Limmer said.
A Maple Grove lawmaker wants to increase criminal penalties for anyone convicted of impersonating a police officer.
Recent Incident in Maple Grove
Police arrested a man on July 25 who was impersonating a police officer on Interstate 94.
According to the criminal complaint, Trevon Mattson, 27, is accused of turning on a police-style emergency light bar and attempting to pull over other drivers in his unmarked Chevy Tahoe.
One of the drivers he attempted to pull over called 911.
Officers pulled over Mattson, who was wearing tactical gear and told police he worked for a security agency.
The courts have issued a warrant for his arrest.
He has another pending case from August 2024, where he was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit and impersonating a police officer.
In that incident, He attempted to make a traffic stop while turning on a spotlight on another vehicle on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis.
He was wearing tactic gear and carried a loaded handgun.
However, he did not have a permit to carry.
Mattson told police he’d previously been a police officer in Minnesota and South Dakota.
