He wasn't the real deal.
Barrie Police investigating an incident that took place Wednesday around 4 p.m. at a two-car crash on Yonge Street near Little Avenue, in which there were no injuries and both vehicles were later towed to the Collision Reporting Centre.
One of the driver's involved in the collision was being assisted by a good Samaritan at the scene when an unknown man approached, quickly showed a badge and identified himself as a provincial investigator. The man spoke to the female driver of one of the involved vehicles and suggested she could get into his air-conditioned car. The good Samaritan asked to see the badge and noticed it did not have a badge number or rank on it and realized at no time did the man properly identify himself. The man got into a grey-coloured sedan and drove away.
Police believe this incident was isolated but needs to be addressed:
A police officer can conduct their duties in a full police unform or in a plainclothes capacity. Uniform officers are readily identifiable by the issued police uniform they wear. Plainclothes officers do not wear issued clothing and often dress in the same manner that members of the community do. However, a plainclothes officer, when acting in an official capacity, is required to properly identify themselves with a badge issued by the police service that employs them, and this is always accompanied by a warrant card. The warrant card will have the officer’s name, badge number, rank, official identifiers of the Service (usually an image that depicts the official crest) and the signature of the Chief of Police or the case of the Ontario Provincial Police, the signature of the Commissioner.
Members of the public are encouraged to ask for these two pieces of identification if someone identifies themselves a police officer and they might be unsure of their legitimacy. When in doubt, you can always call 911 and seek the confirmation you require.
