Sask. RCMP continue search for police impersonator in case municipal official calls 'unsettling' - CBC
RCMP indicate two cases of police impersonation in Saskatchewan in recent weeks involved civilian vehicles with blue and red lights. (CBC)Social SharingAt last word, RCMP had yet to arrest or identify a suspect in a roughly week-old case of suspected police impersonation in southern Saskatchewan.
Coronach RCMP said someone in a white or light grey Ford F-150 with a crew cab tried to make a traffic stop on Highway 36, near the intersection with Highway 13, around 7:30 p.m. CST on Oct. 23.
Another motorist told police there were red and blue lights in the truck's windshield. But when the other vehicle pulled over, the truck sped away instead of stopping.
Police said the truck was being driven "erratically," and a witness said the truck's driver was a man with short grey hair.
RCMP said the truck is not connected to any police agencies in the area and they continue to investigate.
The case drew the attention of Sharleine Eger, administrator for the Rural Municipality of Willow Bunch, which borders the intersection in question.
"It's actually quite unsettling and very concerning," she told CBC News. "In a rural area, when you see emergency lights, first you might be thinking, 'What did I do now?'
"But when you see them, there's supposed to be an element of trust there. You make the assumption that these are law-abiding people that are stopping you. So it's kind of unnerving to know that something like this can happen."
Eger said people she's spoken to have had the same kind of response.
"There's so many vulnerable people out there. Seniors, young people, children," she said. "And in a rural area like where we are, the roads aren't travelled by a lot of people.
"And so, if something like this happens — luckily, nothing bad really happened — but there's nobody else out there around to be like a witness or identify anything, you're by yourself out on those highways."
Eger said the rural municipality has a good rapport with the local RCMP detachment, but RM officials haven't heard anything official beyond what has been publicly released.
Ten days before this incident, Leader RCMP said there was a case of police impersonation in their area. Someone in an SUV with blue and red flashing lights tried to make a traffic stop near Lancer, Sask., and a truck pulled over, they said.
No one emerged from the SUV, and the truck drove away.
RCMP determined the SUV was not connected to any policing agencies and later uncovered surveillance video of the same SUV, this time in nearby Abbey, Sask., again with blue and red lights flashing. The video shows the SUV approaching a pickup truck. Police said it was recorded before the incident near Lancer.
Within a week, RCMP issued a news release saying the driver of the SUV had been found and identified. They said they didn't believe the driver had approached any other vehicles with the illegal emergency lights activated — and later clarified to CBC News that officers do not believe there was any attempt to pull someone over in Abbey.
RCMP also said the driver was ticketed and that officers seized two sets of imitation police lights the driver had in their possession. The driver was in their late teens, police told CBC.
In a statement to CBC News, Saskatchewan RCMP said the Leader detachment determined the driver was trying to play a joke on someone they knew but activated the emergency lights behind another person's vehicle.
RCMP also said they are not releasing the driver's name.
"Generally speaking, the Privacy Act sets out when we can release information about an individual," the statement said. "We do not release the name of those who are ticketed or receive a provincial offence notice as they are not public documents at the time of issuance."
Video surveillance captured the SUV driving in Abbey, Sask.
Lindsay Nobbs is reeve of the Rural Municipality of Miry Creek, which includes Lancer and Abbey. He said the case in his area "did cause a bit of a stir."
"Had people concerned, wondering what the ulterior motive of this person was," Nobbs said.
"It just made no sense that whoever they pulled over sat there, and then just drove away because nothing was happening."
Nobbs said they're in a very sparsely populated area that's far from police, with the closest detachment in Leader. (The RM's office in Abbey is about 60 kilometres away from Leader). If the detachment isn't fully staffed, Nobbs said police from Swift Current and Maple Creek cover the area.
Nobbs said he feels that the person's name should have been released and that there should have been some further action on the penalty.
"I don't think a fine for something in this situation is sufficient enough for what [the driver] was doing," Nobbs said. "Because who knows? This just might have been a practice run to go and do something else and rob whoever [the driver] pulled over. I don't know."
Nobbs said everyone he's talked to about this thought it was "ridiculous" that the driver only got a ticket.
"A lot of people figured the sentence would be a lot worse. It seems fairly common knowledge that impersonating a police officer is a serious offence. And just getting a fine for it? It's like getting a speeding ticket.
"It's just lucky that nobody got hurt."
Coronach RCMP are urging anyone with information about the unresolved case north of Willow Bunch to call 310-RCMP.
They said people can also call that number to verify an RCMP officer's identity, adding that people pulled over by a police vehicle can ask to see an officer's badge and ID card. Both the badge and ID card will show the same regimental number, and the ID card will have a photo, RCMP said.
Additionally, they said anyone who thinks they are being followed by an imitation police vehicle should contact RCMP immediately.
Kelly Provost is a newsreader and reporter with CBC News in Saskatoon. He covers sports, northern and land-based topics among general news. He has also worked as a news director in northern Saskatchewan, covering Indigenous issues for over 20 years. Email him at kelly.provost@cbc.ca.
