This story contains mention of domestic violence. Abuse can be reported by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Deputies with Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on July 20 for impersonating a public servant after he allegedly flashed a “Homeland Security” badge to enter an Indianapolis hospital with a knife.
Deputies arrested and preliminarily charged the man with impersonating a public servant, domestic battery in the presence of a minor, domestic battery and intimidation, after investigating a potential domestic violence case at a local hospital, according to court documents.
IndyStar is not naming the man because they were not formally charged at the time of publication.
A sheriff’s officer was called in for assistance after a woman informed hospital staff that she feared for her life and the safety of her 4-year-old son due to the violent behavior and domestic abuse history of her son’s father, according to court records.
The man had accompanied her and allegedly struck the woman while en route to the hospital. Upon arrival, the man flashed a “Homeland Security” badge to the hospital security, who allowed him to walk through the hospital’s metal detectors with a knife, according to court documents.
The woman informed the officer the law enforcement badge he used to bypass hospital security was fake.
After learning of this information, an officer escorted the woman and her son to Riley Hospital for Children, before returning to the hospital to interview the man, who had been waiting in the emergency department.
The officer asked the man for his badge and any official documentation that would confirm his affiliation with Homeland Security. The man complied, handing over his fake badge, his knife and his state-issued driver’s license. He told the officer that he did not have agency credentials on him, according to court documents.
The officer then questioned the authenticity of the badge, which led the man to admit that it was actually a movie prop and that he only flashed the badge to hospital security because he “wanted to show it off to my kid,” according to court documents.
The man denied striking the woman while en route to the hospital, but admitted that he had struck her in the past, according to court documents.
The Marion County Sheriff officer then took the man in custody and arrested him. As of this morning, the man is still being held at the Marion County jail, but has not been officially charged by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Man arrested for impersonating a federal agent at Indy hospital
