Felon security guard charged with impersonating Edmonds police officer

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Accused police impersonator Michael Scaletta-Teates appears in Kitsap County Superior

• Felon
• Security guard
• Impersonating
• Police officer
• Bremerton
• Charges
• Firearm
• Detective

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — Prosecutors in Kitsap County have filed charges against a 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 afternoon, 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.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Felon posing as officer with gun and fake badge arrested at crime scene in Bremerton

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.”

Photo shows accused police impersonator Michael Scaletta-Teates. (Bremerton Police)

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.

Accused police impersonator Michael Scaletta-Teates appears in Kitsap County Superior Court (KOMO)

Edmonds police told the Bremerton detective that the badge Scaletta-Teates had was not from their agency, and the supposed badge number was not real.

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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.

Convicted Felon Is Accused of Impersonating a Police Officer After Arriving at Various Emergency Calls

“He looks relatively legitimate. As a lay person, you’re not going to figure it out,” one former sheriff said

By 

Charlotte Phillipp

Published on September 14, 2025 06:30PM EDT

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NEED TO KNOW

• A man has been charged with criminal impersonation after he allegedly identified himself as a police officer
• Michael A. Scaletta-Teates, 49, allegedly showed up at multiple active police scenes and identified himself as an off-duty police detective in Edmonds, Wash.
• “He looks relatively legitimate. As a lay person, you’re not going to figure it out,” former King County Sheriff John Urquhart said of Scaletta-Teates’ appearance

A man in Washington has been charged with criminal impersonation after he allegedly identified himself as a police officer — and showed up to real law enforcement calls.

According to the Bremerton Police Department (BPD), located about 30 miles outside of Seattle, 49-year-old Michael A. Scaletta-Teates arrived at an active police scene on Sept. 5 wearing body armor with “POLICE” and “SWAT” logos, as well as a metal police badge from the nearby city of Edmonds. He was also driving an unmarked car with blue lights.

Police said Scaletta-Teates identified himself as an off-duty police detective in Edmonds. Body camera footage taken during his encounter with officers shows that they were suspicious about his identity after he showed up to a trespassing call and a reported fire in a parking garage.

“I thought you were one of our detectives at first,” a Bremerton officer told Scaletta-Teates, per body camera footage obtained by local outlets KOMO and KING 5.

Scaletta-Teates allegedly told officers that he “knew guys with the task force,” the outlets reported, and allegedly claimed that he dealt with parole and probation.

“After a follow-up investigation, BPD officers learned that the male was in fact not an Edmonds Police officer, was a security guard for a nearby business and had been committing law enforcement acts in the downtown corridor,” police said.

In a written statement to KING 5, police said that “nothing occurred to create concern” after Scaletta-Teates’ first encounter with BPD officers.

“Our suspicion began after the second contact with Teates. Because of this, more follow-up was done,” authorities continued.

Court records obtained by KOMO state that Scaletta-Teates had been hired to do private, unarmed security at a local Salvation Army.

“He looks relatively legitimate,” former King County Sheriff John Urquhart told KING 5. “As a lay person, you’re not going to figure it out.”

Witnesses who spoke with investigators claimed that Scaletta-Teates had shown threatening behavior, claimed that he was responsible for checking people into a homeless shelter, and had recently shown up at a local 7-11 store after people inside had called 911.

“He was intimidating last night, he told my friends to shut up and keep walking,” a witness told officers in the body camera footage.

One of Scaletta-Teates’ neighbors told KING 5 that he believed Scaletta-Teates was a real officer for months, based on his appearance. “Even my friends always thought he was Edmonds police,” the local resident said.

Investigators also found that Scaletta-Teates had been convicted of a felony, and police said that when he was arrested, he was in possession of a firearm and “a large amount of police equipment.”

The 49-year-old was charged with first-degree criminal impersonation and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Scaletta-Teates appeared in court on Monday, Sept. 8, and pleaded not guilty. A judge set his bail at $50,000, per KOMO.

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The BPD has asked anyone who may have had “suspicious encounters with this subject where he was impersonating or representing himself as a police officer” to reach out to investigators by calling 360-473-5220.

Police also advised the public to take steps to verify if a police officer is legitimate, including asking for their name and badge number, calling 911 to verify their information or to ask for a second officer, and to pull over to a safe, well-lit area if being stopped while driving.