Impersonation of a Law Enforcement Officer in North Carolina

In the age of social media, it’s increasingly easy for some parties to “catfish,” or trick digital users into thinking that they’re someone who they’re not. Police officers and other members of law enforcement—including entire institutions—can all fall victim to catfishing online.

That said, there is a difference between catfishing and parody. As has been seen in the recent developments at Twitter, some parties can choose to parody law enforcement and similar bodies without facing criminal consequences. However, if a parodist’s intentions to poke fun and not impersonate aren’t clear, the parodist may face an unwarranted arrest.

The act of impersonating a law enforcement officer constitutes a misdemeanor in the eyes of North Carolina criminal courts. Provided that there aren’t additional circumstances complicating the charge brought against you, you may face up to two years in jail alongside fines of up to $2,000.

If, however, you are accused of impersonating an officer while threatening or assaulting someone with a deadly weapon, you may face felony charges. You can discuss how your circumstances have impacted your case during a consultation with a impersonation of law enforcement defense attorney.

It’s a impersonation of law enforcement defense attorney’s job to help argue the charges brought against you down. We want to either eliminate the impersonation charges brought against you or have them reduced to better suit the facts of your case. When faced with impersonation, specifically, our team can argue that:

It Wasn’t Your Intent to Impersonate an Officer

More often than not, arguments against impersonation charges hinge on alleged intent. If you’re to be arrested for impersonating an officer, the prosecution must indicate that you intended to take on the role of such an authority figure. As such, North Carolina law enforcement doesn’t have the right to address a person in a police officer costume for a celebration or holiday.

You can work with a impersonation of law enforcement defense attorney to argue that any behavior that the prosecution interpreted as impersonation was not intended to confuse or trick the parties you were interacting with. You are permitted, for example, to engage in parody without enduring criminal consequences—so long as your intentions are clear from the get-go.

You Did Not Use an Officer’s Standing to Gain an Advantageous Position Over Another Person

Police officers and similar parties often hold a position of authority over others in the general public. This authority can come in handy when navigating dangerous situations or trying to secure a discount on doughnuts at your local bakery. 

Most accusations of impersonation insinuate that the accused party impersonated an authority figure to take unlawful action over a party with less power. Our impersonation of law enforcement defense attorneys can argue that you did not engage in authority-seeking conduct and that the accusing parties thus misinterpreted your behavior.

The Prosecution Cannot Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That You Engaged in Illegal Activity

The prosecutor who brings your impersonation charges forward has a responsibility to uphold the burden of proof affiliated with your case. This specifically means that the acting party must prove beyond a reasonable doubt—but not a definitive one—that your behavior could be defined as the impersonation of an officer.

Our team can poke holes in the evidence that the prosecution brings forward to allegedly prove their point. When closing statements come around, we can argue that the prosecution failed to uphold the burden of proof, and thus your relationship to the charges brought against you cannot be reasonably proved.