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Commission approves higher penalties and a duration modifier for impersonating a peace officer after debate
Summary
After debate and a failed amendment to raise the base severity, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission approved staff recommendations to reclassify several impersonation offenses (some misdemeanors → felonies), add firearm and repeat‑offense penalties, and adopt a modifier that increases presumptive duration; the recommendation passed 9–2.
The Sentencing Guidelines Commission on June 4 provisionally adopted staff recommendations to reclassify and re‑rank a range of offenses involving impersonation of peace officers and to add a sentencing modifier for offenses committed while impersonating an officer.
Staff explained the package: the prior misdemeanor for falsely impersonating an officer was elevated to a low‑level felony (2‑year statutory maximum), repeat offenses and firearms‑involved impersonations carry substantially higher statutory maximums (up to 10 years in some instances), and vehicle/equipment‑based impersonation provisions were tightened to cover common law‑enforcement equipment (lights, spotlights, radios). To translate statutory increases into guideline practice, staff recommended converting the statutory maximum increase into a 12‑month increase in the presumptive duration (analogous to the existing gang modifier).
Commissioners debated the appropriate baseline ranking. Commissioner Mueller moved to increase the base severity level from 2 to 3, arguing for a higher baseline; the amendment was seconded but failed (4 in favor, 7 opposed). The commission then adopted the staff proposal, including the 12‑month duration increase for qualifying offenses, by a 9–2 vote.
Commissioners also flagged a possible drafting oddity: subsection 5 requires peace officers to carry or display identification in most circumstances; staff noted that, when combined with the firearm possession enhancement, an officer failing to display identification while armed could technically trigger the higher 10‑year penalty in ways that probably were not intended and that staff would note for possible post‑publication refinement.
The rankings and modifier will be published for a July public hearing; the commission explicitly treated the adoption as preliminary pending public comment and final action.
