Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman, who was shot multiple times by an individual masquerading as a police officer, has proposed a bill that would make impersonating a police officer a felony-level offense.
“I was almost killed. My wife was almost killed. My daughter had a gun placed in her face by an individual who looked like a police officer, had a vehicle that looked like a police vehicle, yelled ‘this is police,’ license plate said ‘police’ on it. I was hearing everything that you think a police officer is,” Hoffman said during a hearing about his experience and his proposed bill. “He was not a police officer.”
Upgraded Charges
Hoffman was shot and injured by the same individual who killed Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman. Prosecutors are still weighing whether or not to pursue the death penalty against Vance Boelter, the suspect at the center of the shooting, but Hoffman is focused on making it harder for similar crimes to be purported in the future. In addition to pushing for upgraded charges for impersonating a police officer, Hoffman has introduced another bull that would require used police vehicles to be stripped of all markings and equipment before they are resold to the public.
“To this day when there is a vehicle that looks like a police vehicle and when I am on the road, I am taking exits and taking lefts and rights to avoid that person, that vehicle, because I think they might be following me,” Hoffman said.
The two proposals unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, and now they will head to the House and Senate for a vote. The bills have broad bipartisan support and the full backing of law enforcement associations, so it seems likely that both measures will pass their respective chambers. The bills would then need to be signed by the governor before becoming law.
While Hoffman and the Hortmans experienced a very extreme case of police impersonation, many others are victimized in others ways by individuals posing as police officers each year, and these bills are aimed at making it more challenging to do so and increase the penalties for impersonating an officer. These are small changes that should serve to make the community safer, and we are in favor of their passage.
If you run into trouble as a result of someone impersonating a police officer, or you’re dealing with a completely different criminal matter, we want to be a resource for you. Give Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm a call today and learn how we can help navigate your criminal matter. Call us day or night at (952) 224-2277.
