The SunHerald is reporting today that a homeless man in Biloxi was arrested over the weekend for misdemeanor impersonating a police officer.  The man availed himself of a meal at Jazzeppi’s Ristorante and Martini Bar, told a restaurant employee that he was a cop, then attempted to skip out on the bill.  His bail was set at $25,630, which sounds relatively high for a misdemeanor, but it is impossible to pass judgment on the amount of bail without knowing all the facts considered by the court.

Mississippi has several different laws pertaining to impersonation of a law enforcement officer:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 97-7-43 and 44 make it illegal to falsely or willfully assume or pretend to be an officer or employee “acting under the authority of” the State of Mississippi, or any part thereof (county, city, etc.).  This would include most police officers and sheriff’s department personnel.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 45-3-29 makes it illegal to impersonate a state highway patrolman, including wearing any of the insignia thereof.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-159(e) makes it illegal to impersonate the director, or any agent of, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

All of these crimes are misdemeanors, with punishments ranging from a small fine, to imprisonment for up to one year.

Typical fact patterns having to do with these crimes look something like the situation that happened this weekend.  Bail Agents sometimes unfortunately get caught up in these kinds of situations as well.  Other problems include using police lights, etc.