AUSTIN, Texas — We're learning more about what led Austin police to arrest a Pflugerville man for pretending to be an officer.
An affidavit obtained by KVUE states that 35-year-old Sean Macdonald has been falsely identifying himself as an Austin Police Department (APD) officer since at least July 2020. He now faces a Class B misdemeanor charge of "false identification as a police officer," which carries a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a fine of $2,000.
According to the affidavit, on Jan. 15, APD became aware of photos posted by Macdonald on Instagram and Facebook showing him wearing what appeared to be an APD patrol officer uniform. The affidavit states he was not recognized as a present or past APD officer.
The posts included photos of Macdonald in a uniform featuring the exact shoulder patches issued to real APD officers, wearing a shoulder mic similar to those worn by patrol officers, and, in at least one photo, wearing a fully-equipped gun belt.
According to the affidavit, one post showed what appeared to be the interior of a patrol car with someone in the driver's seat, captioned, "View for the next 10 hours." Another showed an APD badge covered with a blue line mourning band and a blue ribbon behind it, with the caption, "Rest easy brother, we got it from here." That post was dated the same day Senior Officer Jorge Pastore was killed in the line of duty.
"This was really bizarre because he wasn't, it doesn't appear like he was going out and like, pulling people over or making, doing enforcement things. He was using it to show off, right? And to impress people," said Dennis Farris, the president of the Austin Police Retired Officer Association. "For somebody to be run[ning] around out there, claiming to be something – they're not claiming to have done things that they did – yeah, it's very offensive."
The affidavit states that witness interviews revealed Macdonald told people he met on dating apps that he was a police officer. In one December 2023 conversation, he also claimed to have been involved in a crash on the job, but the photos he shared were actually from a crash a real police officer was involved in back in 2019, according to the affidavit.
In a different conversation with the same witness, Macdonald claimed to be involved in the search for a man who killed multiple people in a shooting spree in December 2023. Macdonald also told the witness that he previously worked for the Dallas Police Department, according to the affidavit. The witness told police that "based on how Macdonald presented himself, [they] believed Macdonald was an Austin police officer."
The affidavit states that Macdonald has never been a licensed peace officer in Texas and has never been an APD cadet trainee who could have been issued a badge or employee number.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, APD Det. Brandon Solis said members of the Violent Crimes Task Force followed up on some leads and were able to track Macdonald down. Officers conducted a traffic stop and were able to take Macdonald into custody without incident on Monday.
APD is asking for anyone who has had contact with Macdonald while he was representing himself as an officer to contact the department.
"Come forward with any information involving this suspect and any acts that may have been committed while in or wearing that Austin Police Department uniform," Solis said.
Anyone with any information may submit a tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.
Macdonald is currently in custody under a $5,000 bond.