Texas Penal Code

§ 37.12 — FALSE IDENTIFICATION AS PEACE OFFICER; MISREPRESENTATION OF PROPERTY

PE § 37.12Title 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION · Ch. 37. PERJURY AND OTHER FALSIFICATION

Statute text

(a)A person commits an offense if:

(1)the person makes, provides to another person, or possesses a card, document, badge, insignia, shoulder emblem, or other item, including a vehicle, bearing an insignia of a law enforcement agency that identifies a person as a peace officer or a reserve law enforcement officer; and

(2)the person who makes, provides, or possesses the item bearing the insignia knows that the person so identified by the item is not commissioned as a peace officer or reserve law enforcement officer as indicated on the item.

(b)It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:

(1)the card, document, badge, insignia, shoulder emblem, or other item bearing an insignia of a law enforcement agency clearly identifies the person as an honorary or junior peace officer or reserve law enforcement officer, or as a member of a junior posse; or

(2)the person identified as a peace officer or reserve law enforcement officer by the item bearing the insignia was commissioned in that capacity when the item was made. (b-1) It is an exception to the application of this section that the item was used or intended for use exclusively for decorative purposes or in an artistic or dramatic presentation.

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Legislative history

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 982 (H.B. 683), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2017.