University Police arrested a 43-year-old man Thursday in connection with impersonating a police officer at Williams Arena.
The impersonator approached University Police Sgt. Erik Swanson at a high school volleyball tournament, according to a police report.
University Police Sgt. Jo Anne Benson said the man asked Swanson about his bereavement badge — worn to commemorate Richard Lamkin, a 48-year-old officer who died of liver cancer Nov. 7.
Benson said the Mounds View man identified himself as a St. Paul narcotics sergeant.
“He showed Swanson a badge that must have been purchased somewhere,” Benson said.
After Swanson contacted the St. Paul Police Department and found the man was not an employee, police caught the man and arrested him, confiscating the badge, Benson said.
“Why he does this, I don’t know,” Benson said. “The good thing is, we were able to identify him early-on and share his picture with other agencies to see if he has done anything else in another community.”

In other police news:
ù A St. Paul man was arrested Tuesday morning near a campus bus stop after allegedly threatening a city-bus passenger with a box cutter, according to a Minneapolis police report.
Ryan Feigh, a Hamline University student riding the bus, said he witnessed the incident on Pleasant Street and Washington Avenue Southeast.
“The whole thing started after a drunk man on the bus spilled some food, causing a passenger to switch seats,” Feigh said. “A passenger who was sleeping was woken up by the whole incident. He started arguing with the drunk passenger.”
Feigh said the fight between the two men escalated until the driver stopped the bus and told the two passengers they would have to get off the bus if the argument continued.
The man who had been sleeping pulled out a box cutter and threatened the intoxicated man, according to a Minneapolis police report.
The bus driver called police and stopped for about 10 minutes until the police arrived, according to the report.

ù University Police arrested a Minneapolis man last Friday in connection with lurking and attempted theft at the Carlson School of Management, according to a police report.
The 20-year-old man discarded a briefcase he had allegedly stolen when he noticed an employee witnessing the theft, Benson said.
The Carlson School of Management’s second-floor security staff and employees notified police after they saw a man roaming around for no apparent reason, the report stated.
The suspect was under a trespass advisory for misconduct in another West Bank building, Benson said.
Ginny Jacobs, associate program director for the Carlson School of Management, said she was fortunate police recovered her briefcase.
“I was very happy with how the police handled the situation. Not too many cases end up that way,” Jacobs said.

ù A suspect passed counterfeit money at a local business last weekend, according to a Minneapolis police report.
Two Midwest Mountaineering employees notified police after discovering a counterfeit $20 bill had been used at the Cedar Avenue store, according to the report.
“When the bill was examined later, it was obvious that it was counterfeit,” said Janet Johnson, a Midwest Mountaineering employee. “It was made out of two pieces of paper taped together.”
No arrests have been made.

Liz Bogut welcomes comments at [email protected]. She can also be reached at (612) 627-4070 x3225.