SALT LAKE CITY — Mantua Police Chief, currently on paid leave while the city investigates an arrest that left a 76-year-old man bloodiedhe was accused of impersonating a police officer years before he actually became one.

Police Chief Dakota Midkiff reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to a charge of disturbing the peace and a charge of impersonation was dismissed. But the man Midkiff retired in 2013 isn’t happy that Midkiff now has a real badge and gun.

“I don’t think he would be a very good police officer,” William Copper told FOX 13 in an interview. “I think he has some, some problems.”

The The Box Elder Journal first reported Midkiff’s sentencing when Mantua hired him as police chief in 2022. Reached this week by FOX 13, Midkiff emphasized what he told the newspaper.

“I think I was only 20 years old at the time, and since then I’ve learned from all my past mistakes,” Midkiff told the Journal. “…it was not right for me to have behaved this way and I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Records entered in the court filing show that Copper encountered Midkiff on the night of Oct. 11, 2013, near Oasis, a small town in northeastern Nevada between Elko and the Utah line. Copper says he was on his way to pick up his wife from work.

“I was pulled over by a white vehicle,” Copper told FOX 13. “It had red and blue lights on top.”

“He and his friend got out of the car,” Copper said, “and walked over and started harassing me.”

Midkiff was not a police officer back then. He previously worked in private security and drove a sedan with a flashing light bar on top, according to records.

Copper says he told Midkiff, “I don’t see a badge on you.”

Copper says Midkiff replied, “I don’t have to show you an effing badge.”

“And he said, ‘I should shoot you.’

Copper says Midkiff and his passengers detained him for about 30 minutes.

“And they said,” Copper recalled, “‘Well, you’re not the guy we’re looking for, so we’re going to have to let you go.’

Copper reported what happened to the Elko County Sheriff’s Office. According to an agency report included in the court filing, Midkiff told a real deputy Copper was driving fast and knew the sheriff was short-staffed.

After the plea bargain, a judge sentenced Copper to 48 hours in the Elko County Jail.

Under Utah law, felony convictions do not bar someone from becoming a peace officer, although they can create waiting periods before entering the state’s police academies. Individual police forces are free to consider such histories when making hiring decisions.

Public records show Midkiff worked for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office beginning in 2020. He then worked for Wendover police before joining Mantua in 2022.

Mantua placed Midkiff on leave after an Oct. 5 arrest. There was a family dispute in a house belonging to the daughter of a retired wildlife officer.

The 76-year-old pensioner arrived after Midkiff. The boss told him to leave. After some discussion, Midkiff went to arrest the man for disobeying orders. Midkiff tackled the pensioner to the ground, leaving a gash on his face and a black eye.