In a statement released on Tuesday, April 13, the Christiansburg Police Department reported they have had four calls of motorists being stopped in Christiansburg by someone impersonating a police officer, the last two of which investigation has revealed to be unfounded in that the reported incidents never occurred.
One case involved a juvenile who reported having been stopped in front of a local business. According to the Christiansburg Police Department, surveillance video captured from a nearby security camera confirmed that while the complainant did pass by the location at the reported time, the driver was never stopped, and no other cars passed by the location for several minutes after the complainant.
Because the case involved a juvenile, the police statement said, criminal charges will not be filed and further details about the final case disposition will not be released.
The most recent case reported was also cleared as unfounded, according to the police department, after the complaining witness confessed to detectives that the story was fabricated and that the incident never occurred. That motorist is an adult and has been charged with filing a false police report. Again, further details about motive or intentions will not be released at this time, the statement said, since the criminal case is still pending.
“We are aware that there is a tremendous amount of public concern about these cases and are also aware that there has been considerable social media interest in these cases,” said the department’s statement.
“We want to assure the community that the Christiansburg Police Department takes these matters very seriously,” the police department said. “Ensuring the safety of the citizens in our community is always our first priority. Our criminal investigations division has devoted countless hours to investigating these cases. Detectives and patrol officers have also spent a great deal of time conducting focused patrol operations, both high-visibility marked patrols and undercover operations. We will continue to devote all available resources to both solving these cases and to ensuring the safety or our community.
“Additionally, the Virginia State Police recently cleared a similar case in Botetourt County that involved a similar vehicle description as that given in some of our local cases. As reported by the news media, the motorist in that case also confessed to fabricating the story.
“An unfortunate side effect to reports of this nature is that they tend to encourage copycat reports,” the police department’s statement said. “These false reports divert time and resources away from actual cases and can delay response to legitimate calls for service. However, the fact that some of these reports have been false does not change the fact that we continue to devote extensive investigative and patrol resources to the unsolved cases and will continue to do so in an effort to ensure that motorists are safe on the highways and streets in Christiansburg.
“We very strongly encourage citizens to report any criminal behavior, suspicious activity or threats to public safety they are aware of to our department. “
