Mexico: An aide to state Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and two others are accused of operating a rogue police force that claimed to exist for more than 3,000 years and have jurisdiction in 33 states and Mexico, authorities said on Tuesday.
Brandon Kiel, David Henry and Tonette Hayes were arrested last week on suspicion of impersonating a police officer through their roles in the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Kiel, 31, has worked as deputy director of community affairs at the California Department of Justice. An office spokesman declined to comment on the criminal investigation but said Kiel was on administrative leave.
Kiel’s official job title is Information Officer I, Specialist, making him a low-level aide. He was hired on July 24, 2013, and his current salary is $5,618 (Dh20,636) monthly, according to John Hill, a spokesman for the state controller’s office.
The arrest of Kiel is a potential embarrassment to Harris, a US Senate candidate who often refers to herself as California’s “top cop.” But given Kiel’s junior role on her staff, his arrest is unlikely to inflict serious political damage on Harris.
Harris, a Democrat, is a former San Francisco district attorney who was reelected as California attorney general in November.
Suspicions about the Masonic Fraternal Police Department — whose members trace their origins to the Knights Templar — were aroused when various police chiefs in Southern California received a letter in late January that announced new leadership for the group, sheriff’s officials said.
After the letters were mailed, a man claiming to be Kiel and describing himself as the police force’s “chief deputy director” called various law enforcement agencies to schedule in-person meetings, sheriff’s officials said.
Sheriff’s Capt. Roosevelt Johnson, who heads the LASD’s Santa Clarita Valley station, met with members of the group and became wary after they could not provide rudimentary information about the group’s aims, the officials said.
A website identifying itself as the police force’s official site describes what makes the group unique: “When asked what is the difference between the Masonic Fraternal Police Department and other Police Departments the answer is simple for us. We were here first!”
The website adds: “We are born into this Organization our bloodlines go deeper then an application. This is more than a job it is an obligation.”
Following an investigation, officials said, sheriff’s investigators searched two sites in Santa Clarita and found badges, weapons, uniforms and law enforcement paraphernalia.
The three were arrested Thursday and released later that day, according to jail records.
In addition to the accusation of impersonating an officer, investigators also allege Henry committed perjury under oath. Kiel is accused of misusing his government identification.
Jasmyne Cannick, a Los Angeles political consultant who has worked for officials including US Rep Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach), said she has crossed paths with Kiel for years as he represented Harris and other various officials at town hall meetings and other public events.
“If you talk to people about him, he’s a pretty visible person, someone who attends the state of the city and certain events in the district representing his boss,” she said.
“You would see him at a lot of events,” she added.
He fit the profile of a community liaison staffer, she said. “Most staffers are polite people because we are representing our bosses, because our actions impact our bosses,” she said. “He was always this completely appropriate kind of person. He represented his member with class and distinction. There is nothing that would stand out.”
“He could have been doing other things behind closed doors, but I never saw that,” Cannick said.
Kiel is credited as a contributor to a report issued by Harris in September on “California’s Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis.”
