Crime

Armed man in tactical vest arrested after allegedly impersonating a police officer

Police allegedly found Brendon Douglas driving around in a Ford Crown Victoria, dressed in a tactical vest and armed with a handgun, handcuffs, and several knives.

Police in Bernardston, Massachusetts, pulled over and arrested a New Hampshire man who was allegedly armed and dressed in a tactical vest as he drove a Ford Crown Victoria that resembled a police cruiser. Brendon Douglas, 21, has been accused of impersonating a police officer. Bernardston Police Department/Facebook

By Abby Patkin

June 19, 2023

2 minutes to read

A New Hampshire man is facing charges in Massachusetts after allegedly impersonating a police officer by wearing tactical gear and driving around in a vehicle that resembled a police cruiser.

Police in Bernardston, Massachusetts, said an officer stopped the suspicious vehicle Tuesday evening and found the driver dressed in a “tactical vest with a police style badge pinned to the front, armed with a handgun, handcuffs, several knives and numerous other police style equipment.”

The driver, 21-year-old Brendon L. Douglas of Hooksett, New Hampshire, pleaded not guilty to various charges in Greenfield District Court last week, The Greenfield Recorder reported.

According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Douglas was charged with three counts of carrying a dangerous weapon and one count each of driving with an unregistered, uninsured, and unlicensed motor vehicle. Other charges included one count of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, a felony charge for use of body armor, possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate, possessing a large capacity firearm, and impersonating a police officer, the newspaper reported.

During their investigation, Bernardston police said they found that Douglas is known in New Hampshire for similar issues, including impersonating an officer.

A lawyer for Douglas was not immediately reachable for comment Monday morning.

According to a police report obtained by the Recorder, there was a push bumper and light bar attached to Douglas’s blue and white Ford Crown Victoria.

The Union Leader reported that when asked why he was wearing tactical gear, Douglas “stated that there is a lot of violence in Manchester, N.H., and when he travels, he gets nervous that he will run into trouble so he travels with his gear on.”

Douglas allegedly told an officer he was in Massachusetts because he was driving to Washington state for work and planned to cut through Vermont into New York, the Recorder reported. When told Massachusetts was not on the way, he reportedly said he’d gotten lost.

The officer found no clothing or suitcases in the car to suggest Douglas was actually on a cross-country trip, according to the Recorder.

Authorities also found 49 rounds of ammunition and a handwritten note in the car that raised concerns about a risk of suicide, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Aidan Lanciani said in court Friday, per the Recorder.

According to the Union Leader, the note read: “If you find this call Jack,” followed by a phone number and “Tell him to let Aimee know what happened to me then call my dad and tell him what happened.” One of Douglas’s attorneys explained that he had carried the note for a while, and that it served as an emergency contact.

Douglas is being held on $3,000 bail and is due back in court July 14, the newspaper reported.