Surrey 'Creep Catchers' claims RCMP officer caught in sting

A vigilante,pedophile-hunting group in Surrey B.C. claims to havecaught an RCMP officer outside a local shopping mall as he met one of itsdecoysposing as a 14-year-old girl.

The incident is also notable as the group broadcast video of the confrontation live on Facebook, and the video was viewed more than 17,000 times as of Friday afternoon.

Police confirm they are investigating the incident just days after warningthe publicto stop trying to flush out child predators on itsown.

So far,RCMPwill only confirmthey are actively investigating an incident near Central City Mall on Sept. 7 at 10 p.m. PT.

There was no confirmation whether the man in the video is a police officer.

"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, andcurrently, no charges have been laid," said an email from Surrey RCMP.

"We can confirm we are taking this seriously," said the email, promising an update later today.

RCMP denounce 'vigilantes'

The video shows an unidentified manstanding next to a female before he is confronted. There's no context before the confrontation to be able to discern exactly what is happening.

The unidentified man is named several times by the people videotaping him. They then chase a man they allege is a police officer. CBC is not linking to or displaying thevideo until thefacts are confirmed.

Pedophile hunting is a growing trend across North America, and especially in Britain.

Members of Surrey Creep Catchers pose as underage girls online with the aim of confronting men who attempt to meet up with the girls for sex. After sharing some messages, they arrange to meet inpublic locations.

Members are part of a cross-country network. Some keeptheir faces hidden underAnonymous-style masks.

"The RCMP does not condone this activity, nor do we recommend the activity. We believe it only increasesthe risk to the public," said Insp. Tyler Svendson told CBC earlier this week.

Svendsonallegesno successful charges or convictions have ever come out of theseefforts in Canada.

Some high profile cases have led to arrests in the U.K., where officers have officially denounced pedophile hunters, but do follow up on some of their leads.

The Surrey, B.C., group has vowed to keep hunting, despite warnings that their amateur stingsmight scuttle arrests.

"We're not trying necessarily to have everyone arrested. It would be great, but I would rather have their faces out there for good," said Ryan Laforge, president of the Surrey chapter.

The Incident

The video posted on Facebookseems to show a group approaching a man talking to a woman.

The man has a grin on his face, until he is confronted by someone behind the camera.

"Officer D--... Creep Catchers."

The alleged target ducks his head, throws on a hood as he runs away muttering, "f--kman."

Then chaos breaks out.

Everybody runs after the man, with one man behind the camera shouting.

"Surrey Creep Catchers. That guy is a cop pedo! That guy is an RCMP pedo!"

"Did you get his face?Ya we got his f--kingface."

The group then films what it says is the man's truck. There is no further confrontation.

'Dangerous territory'

B.C.'s Public Safety Minister Mike Morris called Creep Catchers"vigilantes," and offered aveiled warning for members involved in posting a video and naming a specific RCMP officer.

"I know the RCMP are diligently investigating all leads on that particular one, and I'm just going to let them deal with the media on that particular issue," he said.

"But what I will say about Creep Catchers and all those types of activities ... They are treading in some pretty dangerous territory. I see it as a form of vigilantism, and I think that's best left to the police."

As for the specific incident, he did not say much, but seemed to hint there might have been a mistake made.

"You talk about mistaken identity. You talk about mistaking some of the information that might getinterpreted differently.These people are notonly putting their own safety at risk, but perhaps, they might even be involved in unwittingly committing a crime as well," Morris told CBC in an interview Friday morning.