St. John Police have charged a man now identified as John Boersma, of St John, with Impersonation of a Public Servant (Level 6 Felony) and Intimidation (Class A Misdemeanor), according to court documents.
On the evening of July 26, 2022 around 8:55 PM St John Police were dispatched to the 9700 block of Wicker regarding a suspicious incident, according to court documents. A complainant advised officers while traveling home on Olcott Ave he heard a siren behind him. The complaint pulled over thinking it was the police and a black pick up truck pulled along side him then began yelling at him saying, “Slow the f**k down mother f**cker.” The complainant advised officers the truck had “Mission One” printed on its side and had flashing lights on it along with an intercom he used to yell at him. The court documents allege Boersma then tailgated the driver to 97th and Keilman where Boersma allegedly said, “I’m going to let you go now faggot, f**k you.” The complainant made a phone call to a Cedar Lake Officer about what to do about the incident to which the officer advised him to call 911.
St. John Officers took the report and went to Boersma’s home where the truck described was located. Boersma initially denied the allegations but later stated he used his intercom after the complainant sped around him and slammed on the brakes making him stop. Boersma then began to get upset with the officers investigating the incident, court documents stated. Boersma stated, he was not going to waste his time with this and officers advised Boersma that the accusation was that he was impersonating a police officer. Boersma responded, “Well then I am. I’m impersonating a police officer, yeah. So now what?” He then stated, “Okay, no. I didn’t dude, come on, you know me.” Then he stated that the officer did not know him, because he was “disconnected with it all.” He then stated that he was “fully equipped to run his lights and sirens for a specific reason” and “that we both know what it is.”
Boersma was asked by officers, “why he didn’t call 911 so that we could do our job?” He stated he was not “about that” even though he knows it’s our job. After arguing for several moments, Boersma was reminded of the accusation and he replied, “Well then sure, now what are you going to do?” The officer felt Boersma was trying to intimidate him as a police officer to not continue with the investigation. Boersma later apologized to officers for his behavior stating a family funeral had him emotional that week.
During the course of the investigation multiple Ring cameras were reviewed for footage of the alleged traffic incident. Three of the cameras did have the sound of siren in the distance along with a person talking on a loud speaker that was inaudible. Two other cameras caught Boersma’s truck following the complainants vehicle. The complainant later identified Boersma as the driver in a photo line up.
Boersma was taken into custody on October 19, 2022 for the charges and his truck was impounded. The charges were delayed due to complications at the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.
