Florida law: Florida Statute 843.08 โ Impersonating an Officer
The Scheme to Skip a Background Check
A 64 year old Port St. Lucie man named William Dennis Milstead was arrested in November 2024 after he allegedly pretended to be an undercover agent for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in order to avoid a background check while trying to rent a property. The FDLE got involved after a real estate agency reported that Milstead had submitted a falsified letter claiming he was an undercover agent working "off grid" and could not participate in a standard background screening.
The fake letter was supposedly written by an assistant captain of the FDLE's "Off Grid Command Unit," a unit that does not exist. The letter asked the real estate agency to make an exception for Milstead and skip the background and credit check, citing the need to protect agent safety. It claimed Milstead had been employed by the FDLE since October 2006 and was three years away from reaching his 20 year retirement. According to investigators, the letter was riddled with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation issues that made it immediately suspicious.
A Long History of Impersonation
This was not Milstead's first time pulling this kind of stunt. The FDLE confirmed that he has 13 prior felony arrests on his record and has been charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer on at least two previous occasions, once in 2002 and again in 2016. That extensive criminal history is likely the exact reason he was trying to avoid the background check in the first place. A standard screening would have flagged his record immediately and disqualified him from leasing the property.
The Charges and Arrest
Milstead was charged with three offenses: falsely impersonating a police officer, making a false statement to obtain property, and using a two way communication device to commit a felony. He was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on November 13, 2024 and was released two days later on November 15 after posting an $11,000 bond. The case is being investigated by the FDLE's Orlando office.
Under Florida Statute 843.08, impersonating a law enforcement officer is a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Given Milstead's history of similar offenses, legal experts have noted that he could face enhanced penalties if convicted. Florida lawmakers have also been tightening laws around police impersonation in recent years, with House Bill 253 strengthening penalties for using emergency lights or other law enforcement equipment to deceive people.
Why This Story Went Viral
The story quickly made the rounds on social media and news outlets because of how absurd the scheme was. The idea of submitting a fake letter full of typos from a made up law enforcement unit to avoid a routine background check struck people as both brazen and incredibly poorly executed. The fact that Milstead had already been caught doing essentially the same thing twice before only added to the disbelief. Multiple outlets including Fox 35 Orlando, WFLA, and the FDLE's own press office covered the arrest, and the story became one of the more memorable "Florida Man" headlines of 2024.
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