FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas—A Kendleton man is facing charges after investigators say he pretended to be a cop at a local rodeo.
Charles Cole, 36, was arrested on Friday at his home.
Investigators with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said the charges stem from an incident on January 22, 2012, at a rodeo arena in the 6500 block of FM 521.
Investigators said Cole was in attendance that night when a fight broke out.
A security guard who was hired for the event was trying to break up the fight when Cole, dressed in what appeared to be a police officer’s uniform, started wrestling with the guard.
The guard told deputies that Cole announced himself as a police officer, and that his uniform had "POLICE" embossed on the front and back, and law-enforcement patches on the sleeves.
The guard said Cole grabbed his wrist and arm and held them behind the guard’s back, and then tried – but failed – to grab the guard’s gun out of its holster.
Impersonating a police officer is a third-degree felony, carrying a sentence upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Cole was being held Friday in the Fort Bend County Jail.
