Kennewick man accused of impersonating police officer

A young Kennewick man is accused of trying to pass himself off as a police officer at Keewaydin Park near Kennewick High School.

Clinton Martin, 18, was booked into the Benton County jail Friday evening on suspicion of second-degree criminal impersonation.

An adult at the park a day earlier reported a man in the park wearing a tactical vest, a radio earpiece and a holster with a pistol to the resource officer at Kennewick High School. The tactical vest had no markings or lettering, such as the word “police.”

The man approached the adult, who was smoking a cigarette, and said “Don’t make me be that guy,” according to police reports. He did not remove the firearm, which police determined was an airsoft pistol, or make any threat with it.

The Kennewick city code prohibits people who are not law enforcement officers from acting in a way that would cause a reasonable person to believe they were officers.

Martin has been barred from Kennewick city parks, according to police reports

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Kennewick man accused of impersonating police officer."