A convicted felon faces charges of unlawfully possessing a firearm and criminal impersonation of a police officer,=.
Prosecutors in Kitsap County have filed charges against the convicted felon who was working as a security guard in Bremerton when he allegedly passed himself off as a police detective while responding to emergency calls.
Michael Scaletta-Teates, 49, of Olympia, appeared in court Monday morning, where he was advised he faces charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and criminal impersonation. According to charging documents, a Bremerton police officer encountered Scaletta-Teates while responding to a call of a fire in a parking garage on Sept. 4.The officer wrote in a report that Scaletta-Teates pulled up to the scene in a Ford Explorer with flashing blue lights, then identified himself as an off-duty detective from Edmonds police. Initially, the Bremerton police officer said he believed Scaletta-Teates was an actual detective, but quickly became suspicious. "Scaletta-Teates advised he retired from Baltimore City after 27 years," the Bremerton officer wrote in his report. "Scaletta explained he worked for the Thurston Sheriff's department, but didn't like it since they wanted him to work in the jail. Scaletta said he had to 'go back and get the WA PERS and RCWs'. This statement made little sense and further indicated Scaletta was impersonating a law enforcement officer." The report notes Scaletta-Teates claimed to be a gang detective and in the 'intelligence division" at Edmonds police. The officer checked the state license database and found Scaletta-Teates did not have a driver's license, but did find he had previously been convicted of a false bomb hoax in Maryland in 2016. A Bremerton police supervisor was called to the Salvation Army, where Scaletta-Teates was working, and took over the investigation. The supervisor noted Scaletta-Teates' uniform was irregular, including a flashlight holder directly behind his firearm holster and a "budget-model" body camera. Investigators contacted the security company for which Scaletta-Teates was working, and the owner claimed that Scaletta-Teates was not supposed to be armed and was only supposed to wear the company's logo. "He was completely unaware Scaletta-Teates was operating as a police officer while on duty with their company," the report states. Police said Scaletta-Teates had also responded to a trespassing call in Bremerton earlier in the night and acted as 'backup' to two Bremerton officers. Edmonds police told the Bremerton detective that the badge Scaletta-Teates was not from their agency, and the supposed bad number was not real. At a court hearing Monday afternoon in Port Orchard, Scaletta-Teates entered pleas of not guilty, and the judge set his bail at $50,000.
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