Montco police investigating suspicious incident with unmarked van
Police in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, are investigating a report of a suspicious traffic stop earlier this week involving a man in an unmarked white van.
Police in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, are investigating a report of a suspicious traffic stop earlier this week involving a man in an unmarked white van.
About 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, a motorist driving on Church Road in the township's Oreland section saw the white van, displaying "police-style" red and blue lights, stopped on the road, police said.
The van appeared to have made a traffic stop of a Nissan Sentra, said Detective Stephen Craig. The passing motorist stopped to observe, then saw the van leave and get onto nearby Route 309, Craig said.
The motorist followed for a short while, got the van's license plate number, and later called police to report the incident.
Craig said police have spoken to the van's owner, Charles Grossman of Whitemarsh Township.
He said Grossman is currently a "person of interest" and has not been charged with a crime.
Grossman, 56, is a full-time locksmith who sometimes works for the Pennsylvania SPCA in Philadelphia as a humane law enforcement officer.
Reached by phone Friday, Grossman said: "The only thing I will tell you is I was not doing anything acting like a police officer."
After tracing the van to Grossman, police executed two search warrants and recovered various identification cards and badges, police clothing, body armor and firearms in the van, which is Grossman's personal vehicle, police said.
Asked if any of the items could have been part of Grossman's line of work at the PSPCA, Craig said the contents "are under investigation."
Gillian Kocher, a spokeswoman for the PSPCA, said Grossman works sporadically for the agency, but hadn't done so in recent months.
The agency is cooperating with the police department's investigation and will await its findings, she said.
Grossman said he had stopped on the road Tuesday night because of "a disagreement on the highway," but would not explain what he meant by that.
Asked if he had a disagreement with the Sentra driver, he said no.
"The only thing I can tell you is I did nothing nefarious," he said.
He said he did not have police lights on the dashboard of his van, but rather "hazard lights."
He would not speak about the items police say were recovered from the van. "It's allegations, it's all botched up," he said.
Meanwhile, police are trying to learn more. They'd like to find the driver of the Sentra, or speak to anyone who knows more about what happened or more about Grossman. Anyone with information should call police at 215-836-1606.
215-854-2592
@julieshawphilly