An Orlando man is facing charges after deputies received a call from a local apartment complex, reporting a man impersonating a Homeland Security officer. As reported by WESH, the incident took place at the Sabal Palm apartment complex where the man, identified as Steven Donovan, 47, allegedly approached an employee requesting access to a unit under the guise of investigating illegal immigrants.
According to the employee's account, Donovan displayed a portion of a handgun from his jacket in an attempt to coerce compliance. Returning to the safety of the front office, the employee called law enforcement, prompting Donovan to follow, "knocking on the doors and windows screaming he was the police," as described by WESH.
The Orange County deputies, arriving on the scene, found Donovan talking to a deputy next to a blue bicycle in the parking lot and discovered he was armed with a handgun, ammunition, and a pocket knife. As stated in the arrest affidavit by ClickOrlando, Donovan insisted that he could not be arrested as he claimed to be a cop. Claiming that earlier, he had seen a "Mexican" at the apartment with a rolled-up mattress and broken lock, Donovan expressed his suspicion and intention to check if the person was still there illegally. Details of this interaction were properly documented by the arresting officers.
While securing Donovan and escorting him to the patrol vehicle, he made an utterance notable enough for the deputies to include in their report. "Deputies could not arrest him because he was a cop," Donovan claimed, as reported by ClickOrlando. This assertion was proven false when deputies found that his only law enforcement credential was a state-issued blue card indicating a submitted application for a class 'D' security license.
Now detained, Donovan is charged with impersonating an officer, a serious offense, and is being held on a $1,000 bond.
