The latest sting by Surrey Creep Catchers was streamed live on Facebook Wednesday night – and the target is an RCMP officer, a source tells CTV News.
The source has confirmed that the man in the video posted online is a Surrey RCMP officer.
The Creep Catchers, whose stated goal is to expose sexual predators on social media, has shared few details about the set-up. The group's allegations against the Mountie have not been proven in court, nor have any charges been laid.
Ryan Laforge, the founder of the controversial group’s Surrey chapter, shared a video suggesting a dozen people helped with the sting.
“We’ve got a 12-man squad on this mission. It’s heavy,” Laforge tells viewers in the footage.
“Make sure you guys are all ready, make sure you guys are all watching, make sure you guys are all sharing.”
On the stream, which was viewed 29,000 times on Facebook, Creep Catchers members can be seen walking through a parking lot and approaching a bald, white man in a hoodie outside a Boston Pizza.
“How are you? Creep Catchers,” Laforge says.
The target immediately runs away, with members of the vigilante group giving chase. The man manages to escape, and Creep Catchers members spend the next few minutes searching for him in the area.
Creep Catchers did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CTV News on Thursday, but Surrey RCMP confirmed it has launched an investigation into the incident.
“The investigation is active and ongoing and is looking into the actions of all parties. We are also mindful of allegations that the matter involves a police officer. While a number of people have been identified, this remains a fluid investigation and no one is in custody and currently no charges have been laid,” a spokesperson said in an email statement.
The Surrey detachment said it is taking the investigation seriously but will not discuss specifics of the allegations.
The incident follows one week after B.C.’s Integrated Child Exploitation unit urged online vigilante groups to leave police work to the police, warning that their amateur efforts can actually allow predators to escape justice.
Stings such as these also potentially put the vigilantes, their targets and the public at risk, according to law enforcement. In one incident earlier this summer in Surrey, a target tried fleeing from Creep Catchers members in a car and allegedly crashed into a parked truck.
It also appears the man levelling allegations against the RCMP has a history with police.
Between 2005 and 2011, a man named Ryan Matthew Laforge was convicted for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop at an accident, breach of probation, mischief $5,000 or under and possession of a controlled substance.
CTV News was unable to reach Laforge for comment Thursday.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s St. John Alexander
