August 5th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
The Johnstown Tribune Democrat reports a Somerset man is facing multiple charges after police say he identified himself as a doctor at Somerset Community Hospital.
Todd Michael Knisely, 37, of the 400 block of High Street, has been charged with falsely impersonating persons privately employed, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.
Around 7:15 a.m. July 18, Somerset Borough Police officers arrived to the hospital's third floor to speak with Knisely, who could be seen wearing a white SCH embroidered lab coat.
Witnesses told police Knisely had been wandering the corridors, entered an unoccupied patient room and was escorted from the hospital after he refused to take off and return the lab coat.
A nurse case manager told police that Knisely approached her while she was working on the fourth floor and asked where the IT department was. When asked if he worked at the hospital, the manager said Knisely told her he worked in IT and identified himself as "Johnson."
A nursing supervisor said she became suspicious of Knisely and approached him, asking if he worked at the hospital and then asked for his credentials. After she asked Knisely if he was a doctor, Knisely responded, "yeah, are you?" the affidavit says.
Knisely told police he was conducting a "sci-op" for an unknown online journal he writes for and that he was doing research by testing the facility security and access. He claimed to have been at the hospital for about 20 minutes and insisted that what he had done was not illegal because he had researched the law prior to the incident.
The affidavit says Robert King, vice president and safety officer at the hospital, stated it was the position of the hospital to prosecute Knisely to the fullest extent possible.
Knisely is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Sept. 16 in front of District Judge Kenneth W. Johnson.
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