Anoka County MN security guard charged with impersonating state trooper to impress friend
Anoka County MN Aug 22 2018 An Anoka County man is in trouble after prosecutors say he claimed to be a Minnesota state trooper in an effort to impress a female acquaintance.
Charges were filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court against Tyler Nagel, 19, of St. Francis, who worked as a security guard at an auto dealership in Brooklyn Center.
Just before midnight Sunday, officers were called to Luther Brookdale Toyota to do a welfare check on a woman, who feared for her safety after a man she met online and who had identified himself as a state trooper began behaving erratically, according to a criminal complaint. The dealership is located at 6700 Brooklyn Boulevard.
When officers approached Nagel, he identified himself to them as “Officer Nagel.” He later told police he was trying to impress the woman and a juvenile female she was with, by bringing them along on his overnight shift and telling them he was on a stakeout of the dealership, the complaint said. He told the women he was a state trooper and was in training to become a Brooklyn Center police officer as he drove them around the lot in his security car.
On several occasions, Nagel told the two women there was a “1030” in progress, which he claimed was policespeak for a “dangerous situation,” authorities said. Other times, he ordered the two to “exit the vehicle, to stay inside the vehicle, or to remain in certain areas of the parking lot to allow the defendant to complete police work,” police said.
The woman felt obligated to follow his orders because she thought he was a trooper, the complaint said. But, as the night went on, she grew more worried and called her boyfriend, who in turn contacted police.
Nagel was arrested on the spot. A search of his vehicle turned up a jacket with a badge inside and a samurai sword, according to court filings.
Nagel, who remained jailed Tuesday in lieu of $3,000 bail, faces two counts of impersonating a peace officer, a gross misdemeanor. His first court appearance is slated for Wednesday afternoon.
Star Tribune
