GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Police are investigating after a young girl reported a suspicious interaction with a stranger on her walk home from school.
It happened Thursday after Grand Rapids Public Schools Zoo School was let out for the day.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said a man in a green Ford pickup truck approached the 12-year-old girl and offered her a ride.
"Being the father of a 12-year-old daughter myself, it was very unsettling to see this girl," Winstrom said. "She did the right thing. Called for help immediately. She was able to seek shelter in a local business nearby. So I was really impressed by her actions. She did a great job."
Winstrom said this could have turned out differently if she didn't act quickly.
"I was able to review body-worn camera video of the officers interacting with the suspicious individual, and it made me very uncomfortable. Because where I couldn't necessarily point to on its face an immediate crime that he was committing, it made me extremely uncomfortable as a parent, and the officers conveyed to him the same feeling that they had, that this was definitely disorderly in nature, that it was inappropriate in nature," the chief said. "It wasn't the sort of conversation an adult man should have with a girl leaving school. And I think they conveyed to him how serious it was. And I think he knows his potential for charging in this case, and I doubt very much he'll be in Grand Rapids anytime soon unless it is because he's being arrested."
While it's not illegal to drive in circles for an extended period of time, the Chief said, he's passing along the case to the Kent County Prosecutor's Office for review.
"But at some point in time, the circumstantial evidence of intending to do criminal activity stacks up to a point where you do reach a crime and in this case, that, combined with the fact that he definitely approached this young girl and asked if she wanted a ride, I think that's something that we need to take a look at, and we're going to ask the prosecutor's office to take a look at to make sure that this doesn't escalate for somebody else in this individual's future, some other other child in this individual's future, and that we let him know that that sort of behavior will not be tolerated here," Winstrom said.
Grand Rapids Public Schools addressed what happened, saying the student was safe.
GRPS shared these tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics for families to keep in mind this Halloween season:
- Always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds. Research shows that evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. are the riskiest times of day for child pedestrians.
- If your older children are trick-or-treating alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you. Agree on a specific time when they should return home and get flashlights with batteries for everyone.
- Talk with kids about the risk of distracted walking. This includes text messaging, talking on or looking at their phone and listening to music.
- Cross the street as a group in established crosswalks. Most child pedestrian traffic fatalities occurred mid-block, rather than at intersections. Make sure kids know not to cross the street between parked cars or out of driveways or alleys.
- Stay on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic. Only go to homes with a porch light on and, ideally, a well-lit pathway.
