Aid to California attorney general charged in probe of phony police

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Roosevelt Johnson thought it was odd when three people – two of them dressed in police uniforms he didn’t recognize – strolled into the Santa Clarita, California, station in February.

One man introduced himself as chief of the Masonic Fraternal Police Department and told Johnson this was a courtesy call to let him know the agency was setting up shop in the area.

They met for 45 minutes, Johnson said, but he was left confused and suspicious – so much so that he immediately ordered deputies to pull station surveillance video so they would have images of the visitors. He also assigned detectives to check them out.

“It was an odd meeting,” the captain recalled. “It just raised my suspicion level.”

This week, the three people were charged with impersonating police officers. They are David Henry, who told Johnson he was the police chief, Tonette Hayes and Brandon Kiel, an aide to state Attorney General Kamala Harris.

It turns out Henry, Hayes and Kiel had allegedly introduced themselves to police agencies across the state, though it is unclear why. A website claiming to represent their force cites connections to the Knights Templar that they say go back 3,000 years. The site also said the department had jurisdiction in 33 states and Mexico.

Detectives believe other people may be involved in the operation, sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.

Deputies found ID cards, uniforms and law enforcement-like vehicles along with other official police equipment during their search of a home and office linked to the group, she said.

However, Nishida said there were no indications the group was stopping the public or conducting other law enforcement activities.

The investigation is continuing.

Harris has received regular briefings on the case since it began.

“The attorney general has been concerned about these serious allegations from the point she was first briefed on this investigation,” said David Beltran, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice. “Our office has been cooperating with investigators from the beginning and will continue to do so.”

Friends of Kiel rushed to his defense.

“I was in total disbelief. I still don’t believe it,” Los Angeles businesswoman Ingrid Fields said. “This is not the Brandon that I or dozens of people know.”

Those who knew Henry said the 46-year-old was very open about his role.

Employees at the Backwoods Inn restaurant in Santa Clarita remember a day about a month ago when Henry – a regular customer – walked in with a swagger.

He wore a dark blue police uniform with badges and insignia on both arms. He told the staff at the country western-themed eatery off the Sierra Highway he was a police chief and handed out his business card with pride.

“He carried himself like a cop, his uniform was spot on to a regular cop uniform, we all thought he was a legit cop,” said a chef at the restaurant.