New law increases penalties for impersonating a peace officer

Penalties for impersonating a peace officer will increase.

Effective Aug. 1, 2026, the charge will increase from a misdemeanor to a felony with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment if an offender does so intending to mislead another person but taking no further action.

Increasing to a felony with up to five years imprisonment, from a gross misdemeanor, are instances where the impersonator also uses the deception to gain access to a public building or government facility that is not open to the public; directs someone to take a certain action or refrain from acting; violates statutes related to vehicle lights and sirens; and operates a vehicle marked with “police” or a similar marking falsely indicating the vehicle is a law enforcement vehicle.

The new law also goes after repeat offenders by increasing the penalty for impersonating a peace officer within five years of a previous felony conviction to a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. It was two years.

A person who possesses a firearm while impersonating an officer could also face a felony charge with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, again from two years.

The new law will also require someone working as a peace officer to identify their employer, and provide their name and identification number when performing acts regularly performed by peace officers, such as stopping, detaining, or arresting individuals. An officer in uniform that displays the information will satisfy the requirement. Failure to do so does not make an arrest unlawful and cannot be used as the basis to suppress any evidence identified or seized following an arrest.

Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL-Plymouth) and Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) are the sponsors.

HF3404*/SF3735/CH98

HF3404* / SF3735 / CH98