Court Opinion

ID: 9730275
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:06:56.697424+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:05.379522
License: Public Domain

DAY, J.
(concurring). I concur in the majority opinion and write solely for the purpose of expressing my opinion that the penalty for personating a police officer is woefully inadequate. In this case the defendant used a phony badge to “prove” to the victim that he was in fact a police officer. It is fortunate that she refused to accompany him.
One need only note the frequency with which the press reports crimes by persons claiming to their victims that they are police officers. Many sexual offenders use this method to coerce victims into automobiles.
Law abiding citizens are especially prone to follow directives from one they believe to be an officer of the law.
The crime of personating a peace officer is defined in sec. 946.70, Stats. It is classified as a Class B misdemeanor which carries a penalty under sec. 939.51(3) (b), of “a fine not to exceed $1,000. or imprisonment not to exceed thirty days or both.”
The potential for harm which this offense presents should in my opinion be amended to be defined as one of the more serious felonies.
I am authorized to state that Justice William G. Callow joins in this concurring opinion.