Ryan Calista
KENNEBUNK – A Dover, New Hampshire, man reportedly tried to impersonate a police officer at a playground in Kennebunk on Wednesday afternoon and in a Dover neighborhood a few hours later.
Kennebunk Police responded to a call around 2:30 p.m. reporting a man who claimed to be a police officer looking for a missing 13-year-old at the Parks and Recreation Center playground on Park Street, according to a press release from Kennebunk Police. The man wore a police hat and a police vest and sped into the parking lot in a Dodge Ram 2018 truck bearing New Hampshire plates and equipped with a blue flashing light, said police.
Several adults became suspicious when the man refused to identify himself or give his name, said police, and took pictures of the man and his truck before he left the parking lot.
“They did a great job. Right away they were suspicious of him,” said Kennebunk Deputy Police Chief Michael Nugent in a phone interview.
Police identified the impersonator as 30-year-old Ryan Calista of Dover, New Hampshire.
Around 4:30 p.m., Kennebunk Police asked Dover, New Hampshire, Police to attempt to contact Calista at his home on Isaac Lucas Circle in Dover, but Calista was not home at that time, according to a press release from the Dover, New Hampshire, Police Department.
Around 6:30 p.m., Dover Police responded to a call of a suspicious activity report at a residence at Waterloo Circle, in a neighborhood nearby Issac Lucas Circle. The Waterloo Circle resident told police he had been approached by a man wearing a yellow reflective traffic vest with the word “police” emblazoned upon it who asked for directions to Isaac Lucas Circle. He also told police the man in the vest had been operating a dark colored pickup truck equipped with a red and white flashing light, according to Dover Police.
After taking the report at Waterloo Circle, a police officer went to Calista’s residence at Isaac Lucas Circle and saw a Ram 1500 truck drive by. Another police officer stopped the truck and confirmed it was operated by Calista. A third officer found discarded nearby a yellow traffic vest and black knit hat, both emblazoned with the word “police.”
Calista was questioned about the offense and then taken into custody and arrested for false impersonation as well as an existing bench warrant issued by the Rockingham County Superior Court in New Hampshire. Calista was released on personal recognizance bail pending arraignment on Nov. 29, according to Dover Police.
A Kennebunk police officer traveled to Dover and issued Calista a summons for impersonating a public servant in addition to the charges he faces in New Hampshire.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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