On Friday, September 5, 2025, Bremerton police in Kitsap County, Washington responded to a small fire in a parking garage. A man pulled up in an unmarked Ford Explorer with blue lights, wearing a black tactical vest with POLICE across the back and SWAT patches on the shoulder, carrying a badge that read Edmonds Police detective, number 360, and a loaded pistol. He told officers he was an off-duty Edmonds detective. He said he had retired from Baltimore City after 27 years. He knew the jargon and he knew the local detectives by name. One officer took him at his word, and says so on camera: "I thought you were like one of our detectives." The next morning a different officer asked to see his commission card. It was not in his bag. Bremerton called Edmonds. Edmonds said he was not on their payroll, never had been, and they did not know him. WHY IT IS A FELONY AND NOT A COSTUME Most of the coverage of this case treated it as a man playing dress-up. The officer explains on camera why it was charged as a felony instead. Earlier that shift he had been kicking people off the property at a nearby 7-Eleven and taking trespass enforcement, and he had interviewed a local transient about a suspicious death at the Salvation Army. Taking real law enforcement action is what raises criminal impersonation from a misdemeanour to a felony. THE PHONE CALL While he was in custody, an officer reached his wife. She said she thought he had gone to work the night before, and that he had told her he was a reserve police officer. THE CHARGES Michael Scaletta-Teates, 49, of Olympia, was charged with first-degree criminal impersonation and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, both felonies. Prosecutors said a prior felony conviction from 2015 made it illegal for him to carry the gun. Bail was set at $50,000. HE HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY. He is presumed innocent, and nothing in this footage or this description should be read as a finding of guilt. He was working as a security guard for a company contracted to the Bremerton Salvation Army. According to the police report, when officers checked the bag where he said his credentials were, they found an empty badge holder and cans of Coca-Cola. FOOTAGE Body-worn camera video from the Bremerton Police Department, Kitsap County, Washington. Public record. SOURCES KOMO 4 Seattle, The Spokesman-Review, Police1, Fox 13 Seattle, and Kitsap County Superior Court records. Business Email: Bodycamjusticeyta@gmail.com

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