Off-duty cop under scrutiny after supermarket fight

Of Aldi reasons to start an argument with a stranger, this one is pretty absurd.

A confrontation between an off-duty Colwyn police officer and a civilian over who touched whose groceries at an Aldi supermarket Friday night has prompted an investigation by the Delaware County District Attorney's Office after the civilian alleged that the officer flashed his gun during the argument, said Collingdale Police Chief Bob Adams.

The off-duty officer, who has not been identified, and the civilian were in a check-out line at the Aldi on MacDade Boulevard near West Oak Lane in Collingdale shortly after 6 p.m. when an argument began over the touching of groceries, police said. It was inside the store that the off-duty allegedly identified himself as a police officer, for reasons that are not immediately clear.

The argument between the two became heated and spilled out into the parking lot where more words were exchanged, Adams said. It is in the parking lot where the civilian alleged that the off-duty officer lifted his shirt and flashed his gun, however there are no cameras in that area and there were no witnesses in the parking lot at the time, Adams said.

Following the argument, the off-duty went back into the store, finished paying for his groceries and was hanging out in the parking lot when police arrived, according to Adams.

"He wasn't trying to run and he wasn't trying to hide," Adams said.

The off-duty was taken into custody but later released and has not been charged with a crime. Adams said he's asked the Delaware County District Attorney's Office to investigate the incident.

Adams said neither drugs nor alcohol are believed to have played a role in the argument.

"No drugs, no alcohol, no prior contact, it was just two customers in a supermarket called Aldi," he said.

Colwyn Police Chief Bryan Hills did not immediately respond to requests for comment.