PUSLINCH – Police have charged a Puslinch man with impersonating a police officer after an incident here last week.

Wellington County OPP officials say that on April 17 at about 1pm, a man and his family were riding their bikes in the area of Watson Road South and Stone Road in Puslinch Township when a black SUV stopped nearby.

The driver yelled something over some sort of a public address (PA) system, police say.

The vehicle described as a black older model Ford Explorer that appeared to be an unmarked police vehicle with yellow/orange flashing lights in the rear window.

“The complainant believed that the person was a police officer in a police vehicle,” states an April 23 press release.

Gregory Calvin Smith, 25, of Puslinch Township, was charged with impersonating a peace officer and is to appear in Guelph court on July 31.

OPP Constable Cheri Rockefeller said this incident, and the man charged, are not related to previous reports of a man pretending to be a police officer.

Previous incidents

On April 22 police officials reported that a man was impersonating an officer and stopping vehicles to ask drivers for proof of their “essential worker “status.

During one incident on April 14, a driver provided the man posing as a police officer with the information requested and the impersonator 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,” stated acting Wellington County OPP Inspector Paul Richardson .

Police described that impersonator as a white man, 30 to 40 years old, with short dark hair in a brush cut and some unshaven facial hair.

He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and what police describe as “a ballistic vest with the word ‘POLICE’ in yellowish-orange letters across the front, but not the back.”

The suspect vehicle in that incident is described as a black four-door sedan, possibly a Ford Fusion or Ford Taurus, with a blue strobe light on the dash and a small aerial antenna on the trunk.

Police say anyone stopped or approached by an officer in plain clothes and driving an unmarked vehicle can ask for the officer’s identification or request a uniformed officer be present.

“Those individuals should also call 911 if they have reason to believe the person is not a police officer,” police stated in the press release.

Anyone with information about these or similar incidents is asked to contact the Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip on-line at www.csgw.tips.