Debate sparked after police post letter regarding ‘suspicious activity’

By Chandi Chapman

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    HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Police in Hopewell Township have issued a letter alerting the community of three incidents they are calling suspicious. The letter has now sparked concern and debate in the community.

A letter posted on social media by Hopewell Township Police said that there have been three incidents reported “regarding suspicious activities involving men that appear to be, or were reported as, Middle Eastern or of Hispanic ethnicity.”

The department said the incidents have been reported in the Beaver County area within the last eight days, saying they’ve occurred at the following three churches: New Bethlehem Church in Independence Township, Genesis Church in Hopewell, and Ridge Point Church in Brighton Township.

Officials said a report from Ridge Point Church stated that a “Middle Eastern man” who claimed he was from Israel and was looking for a new mosque left an electric bike battery on one of the pews of the church.

At New Bethlehem, “four men wearing hijabs” were said to have been seen inside a vehicle in the church’s parking lot, appearing to look at their cellphones.

In Hopewell, the post by police read, a “Middle Eastern/Hispanic male was caught off guard in the parking lot by a member who left early, sat in his car for five minutes, then left” in a vehicle bearing an Ohio license plate.

Multiple comments on the post from the department have since created a mixture of reactions and concerns over safety:

“Thanks to Hopewell Police for this information and basically reminding everyone to always be on alert,” one commenter said.

Another said, “If you see someone that doesn’t look like you, call the police.”

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reached out to the department’s police chief, who sent a statement, which said, in part:

“In order to keep the public informed of recent suspicious activity, I, as Chief of the Hopewell Police Department, sent a letter out to our local churches and other public locations to make them aware of unusual incidents occurring at local churches in and around our area.

“Any claims that using these criteria is racist or constitutes police profiling is not only wrong, but fails to recognize the simple fact that it is impossible to identify anyone other than by using these criteria.”

The pastor at New Bethlehem Church later told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that a staff member saw a vehicle turn around in the parking lot and stop to look at their phones, and the description was reported to police.

He said the incident could have been suspicious or harmless.

“They could have been lost,” New Bethlehem Church’s Pastor Randall Clow said. “We have a lot of people that come into the parking lot, stop, have lunch, turn around, get their bearings, so it could have been completely normal activity.”

Over at Genesis Church, the pastor told Action News 4 that members saw someone trying to get into cars, and they are beefing up security.

Justin Driscoll said, “They noticed a blue vehicle sitting in the parking lot and somebody walking around to other cars trying to open doors and trying to look inside them and see what was in the cars.”

The police department later uploaded a new post addressing comments, saying, “We are shutting down the comments on this post. Thank you to everyone for your feedback. Please report any suspicious activity to 911.”

Police are still investigating and determining if any of the reported incidents are connected.

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