Puslinch man charged with pretending to be a police officer
WELLINGTON COUNTY — A Puslinch man has been charged with portraying himself as a police officer.
On April 17 at 1 p.m., a family was riding bikes in the area of Watson Road South and Stone Road in the Township of Puslinch when a vehicle approached them and stopped. In a statement, Wellington County OPP said the family heard the driver yell something at them over a PA system that was unintelligible.
The member of the family who reported the incident said it looked to be an unmarked police vehicle. It was described as a black older model Ford Explorer SUV with a push bumper on the front of the vehicle and yellow and orange flashing lights in the rear window.
The complainant believed the person was a police officer in a police vehicle, said OPP. On Wednesday, police charged a 25-year-old Puslinch man with personating a peace officer.
Police said this incident is not related to an earlier report of a man pretending to be an officer.
On April 14, a man reportedly stopped a motorist in Fergus on Wellington County Road 18 and asked for proof they were an essential worker. The driver provided the man with the information requested and the suspect returned to his vehicle and left the scene.
“The OPP is not conducting random traffic stops to check motorists’ work status during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor are drivers required to prove they are an essential worker to police,” acting Insp. Paul Richardson said in a statement.
Police describe the suspect as a white man between 30 and 40 years old with short dark hair in a brush cut and an unshaven face. He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and a ballistic vest with the word POLICE in yellowishorange letters across the front, but not the back.
He was driving a black, fourdoor sedan that could possibly be a Ford Fusion or Ford Taurus. It had a blue strobe light on the dash and a small aerial antenna on the trunk.
Police are advising the public that if approached by an officer in plain clothes driving an unmarked vehicle, they are within their rights to ask for the officer’s identification or to request a uniformed officer be present.
They can crack their window low enough to pass their licence and registration through, ask the officer to call dispatch on their radio in front of them to verify the officer is not fake, and ask for another officer to come to the same location.
When being pulled over, police advise motorists to slow down, put on four-ways or signal to let the officer know you see them. Drive to a well-lit area with people around if possible.
“A real officer will understand and respect why members of the public are apprehensive and being extra cautious at this point in time given what just happened in Nova Scotia,” said Const. Cheri Rockefeller, in an email.
If a motorist is being stopped by someone they feel is pretending to be an officer and the motorist fears for their safety, they should call 911, lock their doors and stay in their vehicle.
Wellington County OPP are asking anyone with information about these incidents, or who has experienced something similar, to contact police.