Former Alexandria Candidate Found Not Guilty of Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer

Scott Gordon, a former candidate for Alexandria City Council and School Board, was found guilty Monday of brandishing a weapon during a Sept. 19 altercation involving a city employee and parking enforcement officer near the corner of King and N. Pitt streets.

District Court Judge Donald Haddock Jr. dismissed other charges Gordon was facing related to the incident, including impersonating a law enforcement officer and driving with a suspended license.

Gordon received a 30-day suspended sentence provided he completes some form of anger management and exhibits good behavior. He also has to forfeit his 9mm handgun.

Witness testimony Monday offered some conflicting reports as to what was said as the altercation played out next to a CVS in Old Town.

On Sept. 19, Lewis Simms, a sweeper with the city’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, said he told Gordon he could not park in a N. Pitt Street loading zone. Simms said Gordon noted his handicapped licenses plate and said he could park anywhere.

While Gordon was in CVS, Simms said his friend, parking enforcement officer Tatiana Bentley, happened upon the scene. When Gordon exited the drug store, he assumed Simms had called parking enforcement to give him a ticket, Simms said. Both Simms and Bentley testified that Gordon then called Simms an insulting term.

A verbal argument ensued and Gordon went to his car, placed his bags in the vehicle, took a handgun out of the car door, placed it in a holster on his hip and covered it with his sweater, Simms and Bentley said.

Gordon’s attorney argued Monday that Gordon was just securing the gun in its holster and did not use it in an intimidating way.

Simms said Monday the gun shown as evidence in court was not the one he saw Gordon holster during the incident. Bentley said the gun was Gordon’s, as did other law enforcement officials who responded to the scene when Bentley called for backup.  

Bentley testified that Gordon placed the gun back in his vehicle when backup arrived in the form of two sheriff’s deputies and a police officer.

Alexandria Police Officer William Booth testified Monday that he instructed Bentley to give Gordon a parking ticket. Gordon then suggested something bad would happen if he were given a ticket, Booth said. Booth had a sheriff’s deputy remove the gun from the vehicle because of concerns of officer safety, he said.

Simms and Bentley both said Gordon suggested he was some sort of law enforcement official during the argument, but there were differing accounts of what he actually said. Simms said Gordon claimed to be a CIA agent. Bentley said Gordon claimed to be an FBI official. A police detective who testified Monday said Gordon suggested Simms did not know if he was an FBI agent when Simms asked about the gun.

After receiving the citation, Gordon had his gun returned and left the scene. He was charged on Sept. 25 and a gun was confiscated.

Haddock said that while Gordon may have inappropriately exaggerated, there was no act in furtherance in impersonating an officer and he could not find him guilty of the offense. 

Gordon did not testify during trial proceedings, but did make a statement before sentencing. He ran off a list of charitable endeavors and his involvement in nonprofit organizations. He said there was “more to him than the arguments” made in court.    

Gordon sent the following statement to Patch Monday evening:

“I am pleased that his honor Judge Haddock agreed with the logic and the facts that were the basis for my defense.

“His honor saw fit to take into account the complete lack of evidence, the false and ever-changing statements of the government’s witnesses and the case law that negates each of these baseless charges

“Having been falsely accused I can only hope that the Commonwealth Attorney’s office attempts to meet a much higher standard of evidentiary proof prior to arrest, prior to destroying a man’s reputation and prior to parading him before the city as guilty before being proven innocent.

“I love Alexandria, my family loves Alexandria, each and every one of this city's residents holds a special place in my heart. At this time I ask that our privacy be respected and my family and I be allowed to heal.”

Gordon dropped out of the race for school board in July 2012 after Patch revealed the he lied about holding a doctorate in industrial and organization psychology on a questionnaire he filled out for the Alexandria Political Action Committee for Education. 

He had previously been a Republican candidate for council, but dropped out of the race because of a family illness issue.