Collector Car owner jailed for wrong VIN

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Yeah I saw that yesterday... they completely over reacted and jumped the gun by taking him to jail.... to be honest, I'm suprised they didn't shot him when he went to lift up his shirt...

 
The main problem wasn't the VIN. That was dispatch getting the first number of the VIN incorrect, and it wouldn't have even gotten to that point had Washington state's registration paperwork been designed properly.

The problem is with that ridiculous manner in which YOM plates are entered in the registration (according to the video), with the "license number" unrelated to the actual historical plate number - with exception to a plus sign at the front of the sequence. Any dispatcher who runs and checks registrations for a living - paper or computer - is going to glance over that plus sign. When we do things automatically, the brain gets into a rut - and the average person will skip over the symbol as a meaningless addition in front of the number as if it wasn't there.

The fact that it is possible to bring up an identical "license number" - if the plus sign is deleted - is a further problem to said system. When your system is used by someone who repeats it day in and day out, it has to be simple enough for someone who is in a rut of repetition not to make a mistake due to an uncommon oddity in the system. It can't be an oddity - just file the YOM tags the same way.

-Kurt

 
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While I agree the PD were wrong here, I do not see a civil rights violation. They did not single him out bc he was old, white, etc...

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While I agree the PD were wrong here, I do not see a civil rights violation. They did not single him out bc he was old, white, etc...
We may not be hearing the entire story either.

It's apparent from the video that - after asking around - the officers believed that the car was not stolen, but the arrest was not halted.

Obviously, from the point of view of any officer on the scene, the paperwork still remained incorrect, thus further inquiry would be necessary. However, it sounds as if the failure to double-check everything and the OK to continue the arrest did not come from someone on the scene.

At any rate, the manner in which the state enters those YOM tags into the system has to be changed ASAP, and this incident is exactly the reason why.

-Kurt

 
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When I got my Mach 1 last year, the VIN was incorrect on my title & registration. The last 3 digits of my VIN end in 000, & they only put 00 at the end. They also had the county where I bought the car from instead of the county where I live. I have been back to the Secretary Of State (that's the DMV in Michigan) 3 times to try to straighten this out. It's still wrong! I finally got the zero added back on, after they inspected the car, but the county is still wrong. What a bunch of idiots! I'm glad I at least got the VIN number corrected. When I have time I'll have to go to office & try to straighten this out again. :mad:

 
I typically always give officers the benefit of doubt because I respect and appreciate them putting their lives on the line to protect me. That said, this was flat out handled poorly. While there may have been conflicting issues with the paperwork cooler heads should have prevailed and sorted it out on the scene. Just piss poor handling of the whole situation.

JHawk

 
Yeah I saw that yesterday... they completely over reacted and jumped the gun by taking him to jail.... to be honest, I'm suprised they didn't shot him when he went to lift up his shirt...
when they got to the part where the ole lady got out...I was HOPING they would not make HER take her shirt off.

That being said I have 3 family members and a few good friends that are officers. outside that group I dont trust a SINGLE officer. They treat you like a criminal for just speeding...oh and that was 22 in a 20 approximately 30 feet from the end of the school zone with 2 MINUTES left on the clock of the school zone time. On all accounts and technical data I broke the law. No problem with that...but the treatment I got was uncalled for.

 
Hmmm - considering the type of car, I can see the initial reasoning of extreme caution by the officers. Sorry, but those old Impalas are typically low-riders and tend to be driven by people who fit into a particular profile. Like it or not, it is what it is.

However, once the people were out of the car, they should not have been treated as they were... especially once the cops started second-guessing themselves. It's always easier to start out extremely cautious and relax after things start falling into place, but these officers didn't do that - they just kept at the hard line, rather than notice the people were obviously cooperating and handle the situation accordingly. I'm not saying they should've done so simply because they were older white people, either. Everybody (even the profiled typical vintage Impala drivers I mentioned earlier) deserve the benefit of doubt in a case like this when they are cooperating and things are starting to fall into place as just being a big misunderstanding. It's not like they don't have a half-dozen offices with firearms there to ensure the situation doesn't escalate or anything. Geez.

Could it be me? I don't think so. Since the front clip of mine doesn't match (even though I have the VINs cut out of the original shock towers and have declared the repair to the DMV), it could become a problem. Although, I sincerely doubt they'd commence to pulling the fenders off right there on the side of the road. ;)

The issue with the VIN not matching the paperwork is something that can be corrected on-the-spot if the DMV workers are cooperative, but providing hard evidence (like pictures of the VIN plates and door stickers) might help them understand a little better. Since the VINs on our cars are a lot different than the ones found today, it's easy for them to make mistakes with missing a few digits or getting stuff out of order. Not an excuse, I'm just saying I understand how mistakes are made.

 
Cops are **** heads
Easy to say when you're not the one putting your neck on the line everyday, dealing with every nutcase out there and expected to be levelheaded and accountable to the same general public in doing so.

Not to mention that you're expected to answer to other members of the general public that have no understanding of your job, and don't particularly care to begin with.

-Kurt

 
taking that guy to jail was uncalled for. The majority of police officers act like they are above the law. That being said I treat all officers with the upmost respect whenever I encounter them, and still get treated like I'm less of a person. And oddly enough, the female officers have always treated me better than the male officers.

 
Been a firefighter in the Capitol city for 30 years. Seen and dealt with the worst of the worst and the guys I work with don't seem to be *********.

Oh, and the whole bald head thing is played.

Steve


Never the less, Mustangs are sweet.


Oh and most cops are "above the law" because most prosecutors are former cops and judges don't have a clue. They abuse people daily without consequence.

Cops now days think they are regulators. They think their job is to heard the population, not protect it.

 
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Be that as it may, this is still a public forum that caters to anybody who cares to come in... including police officers and firefighters who love to hate 'em. ;)

We're not saying you're not entitled to your opinion, just find a better way to express it (using better Language-Fu to get your point across without belittling anyone in the process). Public Servants all have incredibly difficult jobs that require a lot of skill, patience, bravery, professionalism and grace in the public's eye... not necessarily in that order... well, everybody but the politicians, that is (military, firefighters, police, first-responders, et al).

I think we can all agree [from our limited perspectives] that these police officers messed up. But that's not to say it's Open Season on all cops.

 
Cops are **** heads

Eom

Steve
Just guessing here but I would bet you have seen the inside of a jail cell. At the very least you have had a negative encounter with LEO sometime in your life. Having said that who would you call if your car was stolen?

I watched the video and I agree that it could have been handled differently. I doubt it was just me that feels their instinct and commen sense kicks in to tell you that further investigation on the scene is necessary in this case. They could have moved to a parking lot and got with auto theft detectives who handle this everyday. There is always someone to call to get more information before taking innocent people to jail.

 
Cops are **** heads

Eom

Steve
Just guessing here but I would bet you have seen the inside of a jail cell. At the very least you have had a negative encounter with LEO sometime in your life. Having said that who would you call if your car was stolen?

I watched the video and I agree that it could have been handled differently. I doubt it was just me that feels their instinct and commen sense kicks in to tell you that further investigation on the scene is necessary in this case. They could have moved to a parking lot and got with auto theft detectives who handle this everyday. There is always someone to call to get more information before taking innocent people to jail.
Not defending his choice of words I think his last comment was an attempt to get past that. ( I could be wrong)

BUT your comment on the theft of his car? Here is MY experience in our wonderful city of Houston and an example of THEFT.

my BENZ broken into a my computer was stolen out of the trunk 2 hours to respond.... NOTHING

fast forward months later I get a text. yes a text a guy with my information and the only way for him to have it was from that computer case.... I called them with my complaint number, NOTHING...I tracked him down myself, I gave HPD his information and address NOTHING. To my knowledge they never went to his house.

My truck gets broken into.... (not at home) ... an hour later I gave up waiting.

Somebody side swipes the wife's car scratching it down the side and tearing off the mirror at the Kroger...NOTHING.

Worse case of all... neighbors are out talking kids running around playing having fun. I live on a dead end street, azzhat flys down the street returns and SWERVES around the kids a fairly high rate of speed I get his license or we did ... I call it in 1.5 hours later an officer shows up. We live 2 miles from the dadgum substation... I follow up NOTHING

And just for your record I haven't been behind bars in 40 years. lollerz

 
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