State official, 2 others charged in case of fake police force

Pictured left to right, Brandon Kiel, 36, Tonette Hayes, 56, and David Henry, 46, were all arrested on suspicion of impersonating a peace officer for their role in a bogus police force called the Masonic Fraternal Police Department. less Pictured left to right, Brandon Kiel, 36, Tonette Hayes, 56, and David Henry, 46, were all arrested on suspicion of impersonating a peace officer for their role in a bogus police force called the Masonic ... more Photo: LA County Sheriff's Department Photo: LA County Sheriff's Department Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close State official, 2 others charged in case of fake police force 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A state Department of Justice official and two others have been arrested and charged with trying to start a bogus police force in Southern California that invoked bizarre secret-society imagery, authorities said Wednesday.

Brandon Kiel, 36, who is deputy director of community affairs for state Attorney General Kamala Harris, was arrested Thursday and later charged with crimes including impersonating a peace officer. He was placed on leave the same day, according to an agency spokeswoman, who said she could not comment further.

David Henry, 46, and Tonette Hayes, 56, were booked alongside Kiel for their role in the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, which claims to have half a million members in the United States, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials said.

A mission statement on the organization’s website, filled with curious punctuation and grammatical errors, describes the group as descendants of the Knights Templar.

“The Masonic Fraternal Organization is the oldest and most respected organization in the 'World,’” the statement reads in part. “The first Police Department was created by the 'Knights Templar’s’ back in 1100 B.C. When asked what is the difference between The Masonic Fraternal Police Department and other Police Departments the answer is simple for us. We were here first!”

Authorities were tipped off in January when the group sent out letters to chiefs of police agencies around Southern California, which stated, among other things, that Henry had been “elected chief of the MFPD,” officials said. Already confused, many agencies then started getting letters from Kiel requesting meetings.

Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s Capt. Roosevelt Johnson agreed to have a sit-down with the group, but reportedly became wary when the members could not answer basic questions about their jurisdiction and overall mission.

The group then dropped the rhetorical bomb that they were descendants of the Knights Templar, they had existed for 3,000 years, and they “had sovereign jurisdiction in 33 states and in Mexico,” authorities said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives determined that the group was not a legitimate police agency.

On April 29, officers with multiple agencies served warrants at two locations in Santa Clarita, where they arrested Henry, Hayes and Kiel while recovering badges, identification cards, weapons, uniforms and police-type vehicles, authorities said.

The three were hit with misdemeanor charges of impersonating a police officer. Henry faces an additional felony perjury charge and is due in court on May 21, said Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators believe there may be other individuals associated with the organization.

The Masons of California, who are headquartered in San Francisco, said the Masonic Fraternal Police Department has nothing to do with their club.

“We don’t have any affiliation with them. We have no contact with them, and we don’t know anything about them,” said Emily Limón, a club spokeswoman.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky