East Canton police investigate suspicious vehicle, explain soliciting-permit rules and training plans

A police department representative told the Village of East Canton Council that a social-media post about a suspicious vehicle likely involved a contracted courier making deliveries and that officers canvassed the neighborhood and local businesses after a resident report.

The officer said officers spoke with the homeowner, toured the area and checked nearby businesses for camera footage. “I believe it probably was a contracted courier who was just looking to try to figure out where he was so he could make the rest of his deliveries,” the police department representative said. The officer said no one could be located and the department will respond again if it receives another report.

Council members asked about a soliciting permit that had been posted on the village page. The police department representative described the village’s permit process for door-to-door distribution of literature and said the village must grant permits unless an application presents a public-safety threat. “By law, we’re required to grant permits, unless there’s a threat to public safety,” the representative said, adding that staff review each application and may require a background check before issuing a permit.

The representative also described a local training-arrangement opportunity with county law-enforcement trainers that would cost $25 per officer per year and provide use of the county’s facility and training equipment. The department is pursuing that training and said it has a candidate with 22 years of experience whose background investigation was underway at the meeting.

The police representative urged residents to report suspicious activity directly to the department rather than only posting on social media so officers can respond. The representative also discussed possible camera programs, including license-plate reading cameras that would notify the department of plates entered into law-enforcement databases.