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New Berlin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent, showing up to traffic stops

By James Stratton

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    MUSKEGO, Wisconsin (WISN) — New Berlin police arrested a man they say impersonated a Border Patrol agent by stopping at two different police scenes in late January. Police arrested 34-year-old Hank Glembin last Wednesday night, and prosecutors later charged him with two counts of identity theft and two counts of impersonating a peace officer.

Body camera video obtained by 12 News Investigates shows him stopping in Muskego, where an officer was helping two teenagers who hit a deer with their car.

“You guys need assistance?” the video shows him saying, pulling up in a Ford pickup truck.

“Who are you? I’m confused,” the officer later asks him, confused to see what appears to be a Border Patrol agent at the scene. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a green vest in Muskego,” she tells him.

Police say he showed her an ID card that stated “Department of Homeland Security” on it with his photo. Video shows him later helping her pull the deer farther into the ditch.

A criminal complaint for Glembin says he referenced “…hanging out sometime,” which the officer declined. He later showed up to the Muskego Police Department asking for the officer’s name.

Video obtained by 12 News Investigates shows a man police say is him at the Muskego Police Department with a green vest with what appears to be a U.S. Customs and Border Protection patch and a hat that reads “CBP.”

Police then questioned if he was a Border Patrol agent, saying his uniform did not match what agents typically wear, the criminal complaint states. Four days later, police say he pulled up to a traffic stop in New Berlin and asked the police if they needed help.

“The defendant stated that he had just gotten off duty, was bored, and was driving around,” the criminal complaint states.

Prosecutors say U.S. Customs and Border Protection told New Berlin police that he was not an agent and the agency was aware he was impersonating one. New Berlin police later arrested him at a traffic stop. They say he was wearing a hat that said “US Border Patrol,” a green tactical vest with a border patrol patch, handcuffs and a handgun on his hip.

Police later searched his home on West Sun Valley Drive near South Sunnyslope Road in New Berlin and had to call the bomb squad.

“We might have a live mortar from the military here at the residence,” police can be heard saying on scanner audio.

New Berlin police tell 12 News that what they found were replicas. Prosecutors say Glembin later admitted to police that he wasn’t an agent and created the fake documents, showing that he was online. New Berlin police also say he told them he was imitating a Border Patrol agent because he wants to be one.

Muskego police also provided a social media post that they say shows what officers saw him wearing.

Glembin is out on a signature bond, according to court records. He is due back in court next week.

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