FWB Police Report Impersonation Arrest After Home Depot Security Check

The credentials question

In release 2026-00025611, the department identifies the man as Nicholas O’Bryant, 39, of Lucedale, Mississippi. Detectives with its Special Investigations Unit concluded that he was not a sworn Mississippi law-enforcement officer despite possessing credentials identifying him as one, according to the release.

Police say he was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail. The release does not reproduce the credentials or explain how they were checked. It also does not establish that the retailer knew of the alleged misrepresentation.

What remains outside the release

The distinction between an arrest and a proven offense matters here. The archived statement is the police account; The Salty Rag has not reviewed a charging document, defense response or court disposition. An arrest is not a conviction.

The department asks people with questions about an officer’s identity to contact it or the appropriate local agency. Its release also encourages businesses hiring security to verify the required credentials. The underlying credential checks and any subsequent court filings are the records that could clarify this account.

Sources & archive records

1. Impersonating a Police Officer — original archived source

   Supplied police source; the complete image is preserved in Crypt of Echoes.