Scott Brown's Brother Accused Of Impersonating Officer, Commandeering Boat
OLD LYME, CT (CBS) - The brother of former Massachusetts U.S. Senator Scott Brown was arrested Thursday night in Connecticut on a number of charges, including impersonating a police officer.
Police responding to reports of a man with a gun found Bruce W. Browne, 46, of Wolcott, Connecticut driving a blue Crown Victoria with what appeared to be a disc and antennas mounted on the trunk along with "hide-away" lights.
Browne was wearing military-style pants, according to police. Inside the car in plain view, officers say they found three loaded 9 mm handguns, a black nylon duty belt with two sets of handcuffs, a police baton, 12 fully-loaded magazines with a total of 101 hollow point and 102 ball 9 mm bullets.
Browne also allegedly had a black tactical bullet proof vest with the word "POLICE" embroidered on the front and back with a silver metal TSA badge attached.
Investigators say earlier in the day, Browne commandeered a boat by identifying himself as a "Police/Coast Guard" official.
He allegedly produced an expired Coast Guard identification.
TSA and US Coast Guard officials said Browne is not affiliated with either agency. (Continued...)
Officials are investigating whether this alleged incident is connected to other similar incidents.
Browne is charged with Impersonating A Police Officer, Breach of Peace, Interfering With A Police Officer and Possession of a Dangerous Weapon in a Motor Vehicle.
He was released on a $50,000 bail and is due back in court later this month.
Former Senator Brown released a statement on his Facebook page referring to Browne as his "estranged half brother," saying he only knows what has been reported in the news.
"As you many of you know, my mom and my late father were married and divorced 4 times each. Unfortunately, we were not close as a family," Brown said in the statement. "These are serious charges and he will need to answer them. I feel badly for his children and I am thankful that no one was injured."
It is not clear why Browne spells his name differently than the former senator.
