Man thought to be impersonating police, actually off-duty officer, say RCMP

RCMP say a man who approached a woman claiming to be a police officer on Saturday was in fact a constable with the Prince Edward Island RCMP.

On Sunday, RCMP issued a release saying they were looking for a man in a blue SUV who was accused of impersonating a police officer and asking a woman to get inside his vehicle.

The woman ran home and called 9-1-1, according to police.

Today, RCMP in Cornwall, P.E.I. issued a news release saying the man was an off-duty constable who was going home after finishing his shift. They say he attempted to “provide pedestrian safety advice to a woman walking in the dark.”

The encounter happened at about 8:20 p.m. Saturday on Ferry Road near Pyes Lane, according to police.

“The constable saw the woman walking with her dog on a section of the Ferry Road that was not well lit at the time, making her difficult to see,” RCMP say.

“The off-duty constable, from a neighbouring RCMP District, was attempting to advise the woman she should be walking on the opposite side of the road facing traffic, as she could have been struck from behind by passing vehicles.”

The release says the officer was wearing his uniform, but the woman couldn’t see it. It says she “departed the area before the constable could engage in further conversation.”

The constable provided dash-cam footage from his vehicle that captured the event, according to the release.

In an interview, Scott Ferris, RCMP senior communications adviser, said at no point did the officer ask the woman to get in his vehicle.

He said a Mountie followed up with the woman to explain that it was an actual police officer who had approached her.

RCMP, in their news release, say the P.E.I. Highway Traffic Act requires pedestrians use sidewalks when available, but if there are no sidewalks, pedestrians are required to walk on the left side of the road facing traffic approaching from the opposite direction.